The Torch of Perpetual Guidance by Saleem Bhimji

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

An Exposé on Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{ of al-Im{m al-Íusayn b. ÝAl| Written by ÝAl| A‚ghar ÝAziz| Óehr{n| Summarized and Translated by Saleem Bhimji

This work was originally summarized and translated by Saleem Bhimji for electronic publication on www.alwww.al-mubin.org and www.iph.ca. www.iph.ca All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright holder, except in the case of brief quotations quoted in articles or reviews.

Contents INTRODUCTION BY THE TRANSLATOR .....................................................i

ÝArabic & English Text of Ziy{rat ÝÀshur{ ....................................... vii Ziy{rat and DuÝ{ ...................................................................................... 1 The Ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn ......................................................... 2 Benefits of the Ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn ...................................... 3 Why Ziy{rat ÝÀshur{? .............................................................................. 6 Etiquette of the Ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn .................................... 8 Section One .............................................................................................. 11 Section Two ..............................................................................................13 Section Three............................................................................................15 Section Four ............................................................................................ 16 Section Five ............................................................................................. 18 Section Six ............................................................................................... 19 Section Seven and Eight ........................................................................ 21 Section Nine ............................................................................................22 Section Ten .............................................................................................. 23 Section Eleven ......................................................................................... 25 Section Twelve......................................................................................... 26 Section Thirteen ..................................................................................... 28 Section Fourteen ..................................................................................... 30 Section Fifteen .........................................................................................31 Section Sixteen and Seventeen.............................................................. 32 Section Eighteen ..................................................................................... 34 Section Nineteen .................................................................................... 36 Section Twenty ........................................................................................ 37 Section Twenty-One and Twenty-Two ................................................ 39 Section Twenty-Three............................................................................. 41 Section Twenty-Four .............................................................................. 43 Section Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six ................................................... 45 Section Twenty-Seven.............................................................................47 Section Twenty-Eight ............................................................................. 50 Section Twenty-Nine .............................................................................. 53 DuÝ{ After Ziy{rat ÝÀshur{ - DuÝa Alqamah ..................................... 55

In the Name of All{h, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful INTRODUCTION BY THE TRANSLATOR From among the fourteen infallibles, none enjoys as much attention and recognition as the Master of the Martyrs, Im{m Íusayn b. ÝAl| – not only in his own era, but even in today’s day and age. To understand his significance in our modern era, we need to go back in history to the day he was born. An event which is usually marked with happiness and jubilation, his birth was actually a grief-filled occasion in which his grandfather, the final Messenger of All{h , had to break the tragic news of his murder and the massacre of his family to his mother, F{„imah az-Zahr{ . After lamenting on the heart-wrenching agony which his son1 will have to endure, the Prophet then guaranteed his daughter that a nation would be brought forth that will mark his martyrdom and shed tears over this loss - and they would be the ‘Shi’a’ of Aale Muƒammad. Later on in his life, while living in the precincts of his noble grandfather, he was given many lofty titles such as,“The ark of salvation”; “The leader of the youth of Paradise”; “The torch of perpetual guidance”; and who can forget the Prophetic aphorism that rings true even today, “Indeed within the hearts of the true

The Qur’an, in S}rah Àle ÝImr{n (3) refers to the two grandsons of Prophet MuÎammad as ‘his sons’.

Introduction by the Translator

believers, in respect to the murder of al-Husayn, there resides a burning passion which will never subside.” From this premonition given by the Prophet shortly after the birth of his grandson in Madinah, up until the end of the Im{m’s life on the scorched plains of Kerbal{ some 50 years later, all lovers of freedom and justice have focused their hearts on Im{m âusayn’s six-sided sarcophagus2 and have directed their energy and love towards him and his sacred mission. The proceedings surrounding his killing which took place on the 10th of MuÎarram in the year 61 AH set the scene for great displays of lamentation and sorrow – starting one year after his killing, lasting until today - and it is not only Muslims who hold the martyred Im{m in high esteem. Rather, when asked to speak about the character of Im{m Íusayn , Antoine Bara, a Lebanese Christian, writes: “My own description of Im{m Íusayn is that he is ‘the conscience of religions’. Had it not been for him, all divine religions would not have continued to exist … Kerbal{ was a turning point. Had Im{m Íusayn not carried out his revolution, the concept of monotheism would not have continued to exist and the new religion of Isl{m would have become tied to the practices of the rulers whose societies would have accepted and surrendered to their oppression under any circumstances because they were the rulers … Unfortunately, even though Im{m Íusayn is a holy character to you Muslims and Sh|Ýa, you do not recognize his value and you have neglected his heritage and revolution. Today you must know how to support this great Im{m by saying the truth, helping the oppressed, reforming society and achieving justice and freedom. You are supposed to be absolutely honest in delivering his scream on the day of Ashura to the world. This task requires you to study thoroughly

Commonly referred to as the dhar|Å - the caged enclosure where the Prophet, Imams or a saint’s body is kept.

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance the dimensions of his revolution. It is not enough to narrate and describe the outward aspect of the tragedy to the world.”

Since the massacre of the Im{m, his family and friends over 1,350 years ago, the visitation to his grave in the city of Kerbal{, Iraq was severely restricted under previous empires, governments and regimes and making the journey meant a severe danger if not loss to one’s life and property. However with the invasion and “liberation” of ÝIr{q in 2003, every year on the day of ÝÀsh}r{ (the 10th of MuÎarram), over 5,000,000 men, women and children from all over the world converge on this small city – with several thousand walking hundreds of kilometers in a month-long journey, from as far away as Ba‚ra in the south of ÝIr{q to grieve, lament and hear the tragic saga of Kerbal{ recounted once again – as if it had occurred just yesterday! The Prophet of Isl{m and the other Infallibles who make up the Ahlul Bayt have emphasized to their followers to make the trek to Kerbal{ to pay their respects to Im{m âusayn b. ÝAl| and for this special journey, numerous forms of ‘greetings’ have been related through reliable chains of narrators. However from all of the methods of greetings for the Master of the Martyrs, without a doubt, the most powerful and potent for awaking the soul and stirring the emotions and enacting a change both internally and externally is that of Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{ - and it is for this reason that despotic governments always tried their best to prevent mass gatherings at the shrine of Ab| ÝAbdill{h al-Íusayn . A passionate discourse between The Creator and His servants with terms of endearment addressed to the infallible Im{m , this intimate conversation holds a special ranking within the corpus of supplications and visitation literature being that this specific ziyarat is a ‘Åad|th al-Quds|’ or sacred tradition taught by All{h i to His Arch-Angel Gabriel who conveyed it to the Noble Prophet i who continued the chain of purity, being taught to us through the great Sh|Ýa scholars until today. iii

Introduction by the Translator

About this work This project began many years ago as a summarized translation of the Farsi work for a series of ‘weekly thoughts’ to be disseminated via e-mail – and thus, the explanation of each section was kept extremely short and concise – 400 words at maximum. After numerous requests from friends and lovers of the Im{m, it was compiled from the scattered translations and put into an electronic booklet - which was hosted on www.alwww.al-mubin.org and numerous other websites. From that initial digital stage, it eventually evolved into a morecomplete e-book. After a recent request to have it published and printed in hard-copy, we (myself and my wife Sr. Arifa Hudda) spent countless hours carefully reviewing the work and editing it ensuring that the new audience that is introduced to this work for the first time can take maximum benefit from its concise yet inspirational themes. The reader should note that this present work is extremely brief and it is an abridged summary of the full work by the author – the full work running over 250 pages. Since there are other books making their way into the market which will offer a much more detailed look at Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{, we have decided not to translate the entire work. Rather, this translation is presented as an introduction to what will come in the future, God Willing. Thus, what you are about to make your way through is but a glimpse into the beauty and teachings of Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{, and it is by no means an accurate representation of what the author of the original work had intended for his readership, and for this we humbly seek your pardon and that of the author. In closing, we submit that we have done our utmost to remain faithful to the original text in order to shed light on the highlights of this visitation, however as previously mentioned, since our initial aim was to have these thoughts published weekly via e-mail, iv

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance we have added some outher scholarly thoughts into some segments to better assist in this brief understanding. We ask All{h to accept our efforts in the dissemination of this Íusayn| message and that he grant all of those responsible for the publication of this work a great reward and that we are all able to benefit from the intercession of Ab| ÝAbdill{h al-Íusayn in this world and in the next. All the praise belongs to All{h i – the mistakes are mine. Saleem Bhimji July 6th, 2009 Rajab 13th, 2009 Birth Anniversary of the Commander of the Faithful, Im{m ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib, peace be upon him

...and I have no success in my work except with the permission of All{h...

ÝArabic & English Text of Ziy{rat ÝÀshur{

In the Name of All{h, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Peace be upon you O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h; Peace be upon you O’ son of the Messenger of All{h; Peace be upon you O’ son of the Commander of the Faithful and the son of the leader of the inheritors (of the Prophet); Peace be upon you O’ son of F{„imah, the leader of the women of the entire Universe.

Peace be upon you O’ the one who was killed and whose blood has not yet been avenged – and whose avenging is in the hands of All{h and peace be upon you, the son of one who was killed and whose blood has not yet been avenged (Im{m ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib) and peace be upon you O’ the one who was killed alone. Peace be upon you and also upon those souls who accompanied you to your annihilation.

ِ ‫ـــﻚ ﻳَــــﺎ أَﺑَـــﺎ ﻋَﺒــــ ِﺪ‬ ، ‫ ا‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴـــﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬ ْ

ِ ‫ﻮل‬ ِ ‫ـﻚ ﻳ َ ـﺎ ﺑْ ـ َﻦ َ ر ُﺳ ـ‬ ، ‫ا‬ َ ‫ﻟﺴ ـﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴْـ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬ ِ ‫ــــﻚ ﻳَـــــﺎ ﺑْـــــ َﻦ أ َ ِﻣـــــ‬ ‫ﲑ‬ َ ‫ﻟﺴـــــﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴْـ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬

ِِ ِ ‫ َ واﺑْـــــــــــ َﻦ َ ﺳـ‬،‫ﲔ‬ ‫ــــــــــﻴ ّ ِﺪ‬ َ ‫اﻟـ ْـــــــــــ ُﻤ ْﺆﻣﻨ‬

ِ ‫ـــﻚ ﻳَــــﺎ ﺑْــــ َﻦ‬ َ ‫ﻟﺴـــﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴْـ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬،‫ﲔ‬ َ ّ ‫اﻟ َْﻮﺻ ِﻴ‬ ِ ِ ِِ ِ ،‫ﲔ‬ َ ‫ﻓَﺎﻃ َﻤﺔَ َ ﺳ ِﻴ ّ َﺪة ﻧﺴﺂء اﻟْﻌﺎﻟـ َﻤ‬

ِ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ ﺛَـﺎر‬ 2ِ ‫ ا َ واﺑْـ َﻦ ﺛَـﺎ ِر‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬ َ

‫ــﻚ‬ َ ‫ﻟﺴـــﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴْـ‬ َّ َ ‫ أ‬،‫ﻮر‬ َ ‫َواﻟـ ْــ ِﻮﺗ َْﺮ اﻟـ ْـــ َﻤ ْﻮ ُﺗ‬ ،‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫ ٰ اﻷ َ ْر َوا ِح اﻟ َّ ِﱵ َ ﺣﻠ َّ ْﺖ ﺑِ ِﻔﻨ َﺂ ِﺋ‬6َ ‫َو‬

ÝArabic & English Text of Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{

Upon you and upon all of those (who were killed) is the Salam of All{h from me for eternity, as long as the night and the day remain. O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h! Surely the tribulations are great and unbearable and your tragedy is great for us, and for all of the people of Isl{m and unbearable and great is your tragedy in the heavens and for all of the dwellers of the heavens.

May the curse (LaÝn) be upon those people who laid down the foundations for the oppression and wrongs done upon you, the family of the Prophet [Ahlul Bayt]. May All{h curse those people who denied you your position (O’ Ahlul Bayt) and removed you from your rank which All{h Himself had granted to viii

ِ ‫ َﻠَﻴ ُﻜﻢ ِﻣ ِ ّﲏ َ ﲨِﻴﻌﺎً ﺳـﻼ َم‬ ‫ ا أَﺑَـﺪا ً َ ﻣـﺎ‬ ْ ْ ُ َ َ ِ‫ﺑَﻘِ ُ ﺑﻘ‬ ،‫ﻬﺎر‬ ُ َّ‫ﻴﺖ َ و َ َﻲ اﻟﻠ ّﻴ ْ ُﻞ َ واﻟﻨ‬ ِ ‫ﻳَﺎ أَﺑَﺎ ﻋَﺒ ِﺪ‬ ِ ‫ ﻟَﻘَ ْﺪ ﻋَ ُﻈﻤ‬، ‫ا‬ ‫ـﺖ اﻟ َّﺮ ِزﻳَّـ ُﺔ‬ َ ْ

ِ ‫ــﺖ وﻋَ ُﻈﻤـ‬ ‫ــﻚ‬ َ ‫ﺒ َ ُﺔ ﺑِـ‬J‫ــﺖ اﻟـ ْـــ ُﻤ ِﺼ‬ َ َ ْ ‫َو َﺟﻠَّـ‬ ِ ‫ ٰ َﲨِﻴـــ ِﻊ أ َ ْﻫـ‬6‫ْﻨَـــﺎ َ و َـــ‬Jَ‫ َﻠ‬ ،‫ــﻞ ا ِ ◌ﻹ ِ ْﺳـــﻼ َ ِم‬ ‫ﻚ ِ ﰲ‬ َ ُ‫َﺘ‬R‫ــــﺖ ُ ﻣ ِﺼـــــﻴ‬ ْ ‫ــــﺖ َ وﻋَ ُﻈ َﻤـ‬ ْ ‫َو َﺟﻠَّـ‬ ِ ‫ﻟﺴــــــﻤﻮ‬ ِ ‫ ٰ َﲨِﻴـــــــ ِﻊ أ َ ْﻫـ‬6‫ات َـــــــ‬ ‫ــــــﻞ‬ َ ٰ َّ ‫ا‬ ِ ‫ﻟﺴﻤﻮ‬ ،‫ات‬ َ ٰ َّ ‫ا‬ َ َ ‫ﻓَﻠَﻌَﻦ‬ ِ ْ ‫ اﻟﻈﻠ‬ ُّ ‫ـﺎس‬ ‫ـﻢ‬ َ ‫ ا أُ َّﻣﺔً أ َّﺳ َﺴ ْﺖ أ َﺳ‬ ُ َ

‫َﻴ ْ ِﺖ‬Rْ‫َواﻟـ ْ َﺠ ْﻮ ِر َﻠَﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ أ َ ْﻫ َﻞ اﻟ‬

‫ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ ا أُ َّﻣﺔً دَﻓَﻌَﺘْ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﻋَـ ْﻦ َ ﻣﻘَـﺎ ِﻣ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ُ ‫َو َ َ َﻦ‬

ِ َّ‫َوأَزَاﻟَــــﺘْ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﻋَــــ ْﻦ َﻣــــ َﺮاﺗِﺒِ ُﻜﻢ اﻟـ‬ ‫ــــﱵ‬ ُ َ ،‫ ا ﻓِﻴﻬَﺎ‬ ُ ‫َر ّﺗﺒ َ ُﻜ ُﻢ‬

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance you. May the curse of All{h be upon those people who killed you and may the curse of All{h be upon those people who made it easy for them by preparing the grounds for your killing.

ُ ‫وﻟَﻌَـــ َﻦ‬ ‫ﻟﻌـــ‬ ‫ ا‬ َ ُ ‫ َ و َ َ َﻦ‬،‫ ا أ َّﻣـــﺔً ﻗَﺘَﻠَـــﺘْ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ُ ِ ‫ـــﻬ ْﻢ ﺑِـــﺎﻟﺘَّ ْﻤ ِﻜ‬ ‫ﲔ ِﻣـــ ْﻦ‬ ُ َ ‫اﻟـ ْـــ ُﻤ َﻤ ِّﻬ ِﺪﻳ َﻦ ﻟـ‬ ،‫ﻗِﺘ َﺎﻟ ِ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬

I turn to All{h and I turn towards you and I turn away from them and their adherents, followers and friends.

ِ ‫ﺑَ ِﺮﺋْــــــﺖ إِﱃ‬ ‫ا َ وإِﻟـ َـــــﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِﻣــــــﻨْ ُﻬ ْﻢ‬ ٰ ُ ِ ‫ﺎﻋ ِﻬﻢ وأَﺗْﺒ‬ ِ َ ˛‫ﺎﻋ ِﻬ ْﻢ َ وأ َ ْوﻟِﻴ َﺂ ِﺋ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬ َ َ ْ َ ‫َوأ ْﺷﻴ‬

O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h! I am at peace with those who make peace with you and I am at war with those who make war with you, until the Day of Judgement.

ِ ‫ ﻳَــــﺎ أَﺑَــــﺎ ﻋَﺒــــ ِﺪ‬ ‫ إِ ِّﱐ ِﺳــــﻠ ْ ٌﻢ ﻟــــِـ َﻤ ْﻦ‬، ‫ا‬ ْ ِ ‫ﺎرﺑَ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ‫ َ و َﺣـ ْﺮ ٌب ﻟــ َﻤ ْﻦ َ ﺣـ‬،‫ﺳﺎﻟـ َـ َﻤ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ،‫إِﱃ ٰﻳ َ ْﻮ ِم اﻟْﻘِﻴ َ َﺎﻣ ِﺔ‬

May the curse of All{h be upon the family of Ziy{d and the family of Marw{n and may the curse of All{h be upon Ban| Umayyah. May the curse of All{h be upon Ibn Marj{na and may the curse of All{h be upon ÝUmar b. SaÝad and may the curse of All{h be upon Shimr.

‫ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ َ وﻟَﻌَ َﻦ‬،‫ان‬ َ ‫ آل ِزﻳ َﺎ ٍد َ و‬ َ ‫ ا‬ َ ‫آل َﻣ ْﺮ َو‬ ُ ‫َو َ َ َﻦ‬

،ً‫ا ﺑَ ِﲏ أُ َﻣﻴَّﺔَ ﻗَﺎ ِﻃﺒَﺔ‬ ُ

‫ﻟﻌـــ‬ ‫َوﻟَﻌَـــ َﻦ ﺑـــ ﻣ‬ ‫ ا‬ ُ ‫ َ و َ َ َﻦ‬،َ‫ ا ا ْ َﻦ َ ْﺮ َﺟﺎﻧـَــﺔ‬ ُ ‫ٍ ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ﻋﻤ ﺑ‬ ،ً‫ ا ِﺷـ ْﻤﺮا‬ ُ ‫ َ و َ َ َﻦ‬،‫ُ َ َﺮ ْ َﻦ َ ﺳﻌْﺪ‬ ix

ÝArabic & English Text of Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{ And may the curse of All{h be upon the nation that carried out, saw and were silent at your killing.

‫ﻟﻌ ـ‬ ‫ ا أُ َّﻣ ـﺔً أ َ ْﺳ ـ َﺮ َﺟ ْﺖ َ وأَﻟ ْــ َﺠ َﻤ ْﺖ‬ ُ ‫َو َ َ َﻦ‬ ،‫ﻚ‬ َ ِ ‫َوﺗَﻨ َ َّﻘﺒ َ ْﺖ ﻟِﻘِﺘ َﺎﻟ‬

May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Surely my sorrow for you is great and I pray to All{h who has honoured your status and has also honoured me through you that He grant me the opportunity to seek your revenge with the victorious Im{m from the family of Muƒammad.

‫ﺑِــﺄ َ ِﰊ أَﻧْـ َ ُِﻣـ‬ ‫ـﻢ ُ ﻣ َﺼـ ِﺎﰊ‬ َ ‫ ﻟَﻘَـ ْﺪ ﻋَ ُﻈـ‬،‫ـﺖ َ وأ ّ ﻲ‬ َ َ َ ‫ﺑِـ‬ ‫ ا َ اﻟـَّــــ ِﺬي أ َ ْﻛـــــ َﺮ َم‬ ‫ ﻓَﺄ ْﺳـــــﺄ ُل‬،‫ــــﻚ‬ ‫ أ َ ْن ﻳَـ ْﺮ ُزﻗَ ِﲏ‬،‫ـﻚ‬ َ ِ‫ َ وأَﻛ َْﺮ َﻣ ِﲏ ﺑ‬،‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫َﻣﻘَ َﺎﻣ‬ ‫ك َﻣ ـ َﻊ إ َِﻣ ـﺎ ٍم َﻣﻨْ ُﺼ ـﻮ ٍر ِﻣ ـ ْﻦ‬ َ ‫ـﺐ ﺛَ ـﺎ ِر‬ َ ‫َﻃﻠَـ‬ َ ‫َ ِ ِ ٍﺻ‬ j‫ ا َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ َ وآﻟ ِ ِﻪ‬ ُ 6ّ َ ‫أ ْﻫﻞ ﺑَﻴْﺖ ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤﺪ‬

O’ All{h! Make me worthy of respect with You through Íusayn, peace be upon him, both in this transient world and also in the next life.

O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h! Surely I seek closeness to All{h and to His Messenger and to the Commander of the Faithful and to F{„imah and to Íasan and to you through love for you; and through distancing myself from those who laid the foundations and those who built upon and x

ِ ‫ اﺟﻌَﻠْـ‬ ً ‫ك َ و ِﺟﻴﻬـــــﺎ‬ َ ‫ــــﺪ‬ َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬ َ ‫ــــﲏ ِ ﻋﻨْـ‬ ْ ‫ــــﻢ‬

ِ ْ ‫ﺑِﺎﻟ ـْـ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ‫ اﻟﺴ ـﻼ َ ُم ِﰲ اﻟ ـ ُّﺪﻧْﻴ َﺎ‬ َّ ‫ﲔ ˛ َﻠَﻴ ـ ِﻪ‬ ،‫َواﻵ ِﺧ َﺮ ِة‬ ِ ‫ إ ِِّﱐ أَﺗَﻘَـ َّﺮب إِﱃ‬، ‫ا‬ ِ ‫ﻳ َـﺎ أَﺑَـﺎ ﻋَﺒـ ِﺪ‬ ، ‫ا‬ ٰ ُ ْ ِِ ِ ‫ َ وإِﱃ ٰأ َ ِﻣ ـ‬،‫َوإِﱃ ٰ َر ُﺳ ـﻮﻟ ِ ِﻪ‬ ،‫ﲔ‬ َ ‫ﲑ اﻟ ْــ ُﻤ ْﺆﻣﻨ‬

‫ـﻚ‬ َ ‫ َ وإِﻟَﻴْـ‬،‫ َ وإِﱃ ٰاﻟـْـ َﺤ َﺴ ِﻦ‬،َ‫َوإِﱃ ٰﻓَﺎ ِﻃ َﻤـﺔ‬ ‫ﱪاءَ ِة ِﻣ َّـﻤـــــــ ْﻦ‬ َ ِ‫ﺑِـــــــ ُﻤ َﻮاﻻ َﺗ‬ َ َ ْ ‫ َ وﺑِــــــﺎﻟ‬،‫ﻚ‬

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance carried out oppression and cruelty upon you all and upon your followers.

I disassociate myself from them through All{h and through all of you and I seek nearness to All{h and then to you through love for you and your friends and disassociation with your enemies and from those who want to fight against you, and disassociation from their adherents and followers.

Surely I am at peace with those who are at peace with you and I am at war with those who are at war with you; and I am a friend to those who are friends with you and I am an enemy to those who are enemies with you.

ُ َ َ ‫ﻗَﺎﺗَﻠَـ‬ ٰ ‫ َ واﻟ ْــ َﺠ ْﻮ ِر َﻠَــﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ َ وأﺑْ ـ َﺮأ إِﱃ‬،‫ـﻚ‬ َ َ ِ ِ ِ ‫ﺎس‬ َ ‫ا َ وإِﱃ ٰ َر ُﺳـﻮﻟ ِﻪ ﻣــ َّﻤ ْﻦ أ َّﺳـ َﺲ أ َﺳـ‬ ‫ﺮى ِﰲ‬ َ ‫ذ ٰﻟِـ‬ ٰ ‫ َ و َﺟ ـ‬،‫ْﻴ َﺎﻧَـ ُـﻪ‬s‫ـﻚ َ و ﺑَــﲎٰ َﻠَﻴ ْـ ِﻪ ُ ﺑ‬ ٰ 6‫ َﻠَــــــﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ َ و َــــــ‬2ِ ‫ُﻇﻠ ْ ِﻤــــــ ِﻪ َ و َﺟــــــ ْﻮ ِر‬ ِ ‫أ َ ْﺷﻴ‬ ،‫ﺎﻋ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ِ ‫ﺑَ ِﺮﺋْـــــﺖ إِﱃ‬ ،‫ا َ وإِﻟَـــــﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِﻣــــــﻨْ ُﻬ ْﻢ‬ ٰ ُ ِ ‫وأَﺗَﻘَـــــــ َّﺮب إِﱃ‬ ‫ـــــــﻢ إِﻟَـــــــﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َّ ‫ا ُﺛ‬ ٰ ُ َ ِ ِ‫ﺑِــــــ ُﻤ َﻮاﻻ َﺗِ ُﻜ ْﻢ َ و ُﻣـــــ َﻮاﻻ َ ِة َ وﻟ‬ ،‫ـــــﻴ ّ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ِ َّ‫ َ واﻟﻨ‬،‫َوﺑِﺎﻟ ْ َﱪاءَ ِة ِﻣ ْﻦ أَ ْ َﺪ ِاﺋ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ‫ﲔ‬ َ ِ‫ﺎﺻـﺒ‬ َ ‫ﻟ َ ُﻜـ ﻟــــــﺤ‬ ‫ﱪاءَ ِة ِﻣـــــ ْﻦ‬ َ َ ْ ‫ َ وﺑِـــــﺎﻟ‬،‫ــــﻢ ا ْ َ ْﺮ َب‬ ُ ِ ‫ﺎﻋ ِﻬﻢ وأَﺗْﺒ‬ ِ َ ،‫ﺎﻋ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬ َ َ ْ َ ‫أ ْﺷﻴ‬

‫ َ و َﺣ ـ ْﺮ ٌب‬،‫إ ِِّﱐ ِﺳ ـﻠ ْ ٌﻢ ﻟ ـِـ َﻤ ْﻦ َ ﺳﺎﻟ َــ َﻤ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ِ ،‫ َ و َو ِﱄٌّ ﻟِـ َﻤ ْﻦ َ واﻻ َ ُﻛ ْﻢ‬،‫ﺎرﺑَ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ‫ﻟـ َﻤ ْﻦ َ ﺣ‬ ،‫َو َ ُﺪ ٌّو ﻟ ِـ َﻤ ْﻦ َﺎدَا ُﻛ ْﻢ‬

ÝArabic & English Text of Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{ So then I ask All{h who has honoured me with a cognizance of all of you and a cognizance of your friends that He also grant me the opportunity to disassociate myself from your enemies and that He place me with you – both in this transient world and also in the next life – and that he make me firm in your presence with a truthful stance - both in this transient world and also in the next life. And I ask Him (All{h) that He enables me to reach the honoured station with you in the presence of All{h and that He grant me the ability to seek the revenge of you with the rightly guided Im{m from you, who will surely come and speak the truth. And I ask All{h for your sake and for the status and rank which you have with Him that He grant me that thing due to me showing grief and sorrow at your sorrows, even more than of that which he gives in a person’s own grief and sorrows, xii

َ َ ‫ ا َ اﻟـَّــــــــ ِﺬي أ َ ْﻛـــــــــ َﺮ َﻣ ِﲏ‬ ‫ﻓَﺄ ْﺳــــــــﺄ ُل‬ ،‫ َ و َﻣﻌْ ِﺮﻓَـ ِـﺔ أ َ ْوﻟِﻴ َ ـﺂ ِﺋ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬،‫ﺑِ ــ َﻤﻌْ ِﺮﻓَﺘِ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ِ ‫ أ َ ْن‬،‫ـﺪ ِاﺋ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ‫ـﱪاءَةَ ِﻣ ـ ْﻦ أَ ْـ‬ َ َ ْ ‫َو َرزَﻗَــﲏ اﻟـ‬ ،‫ـﻢ ِ ﰲ اﻟ ـ ُّﺪﻧْﻴ َﺎ َ واﻵ ِﺧ ـ َﺮ ِة‬ ْ ‫ﻳ َــ ْﺠﻌَﻠ َ ِﲏ َ ﻣﻌَ ُﻜـ‬ ‫ـﺪ َم ِ ﺻـ ْﺪقٍ ِ ﰲ‬ َ َ‫ﺖ ِ ﱄ ِ ﻋﻨْ َﺪ ُﻛ ْﻢ ﻗ‬ َ ِّ‫َﺒ‬xُ‫َوأ َ ْن ﻳ‬ ،‫اﻟ ُّﺪﻧْﻴ َﺎ َ واﻵ ِﺧ َﺮ ِة‬ ِ ِ َ َ َ َ‫ــﻤ ْﺤ ُﻤﻮد‬ َ ْ ‫ﻘﺎم اﻟ‬ َ ‫َوأ ْﺳﺄﻟ ُ ُﻪ أ ْن ﻳُﺒَﻠ ّﻐَﲏ اﻟـ ْ َﻤ‬ ِ ‫ـﺪ ِ َ ﻳ ـ‬ ‫ـﺐ‬ َ ‫ـﻢ ِ ﻋﻨْـ‬ ْ ‫ﻟ َ ُﻜـ‬ َ ‫ َ وأ ْن َ ْﺮ ُزﻗَﲏ َ ﻃﻠَـ‬، ‫ ا‬ ٍ‫ـﺪى َ ﻇــﺎ ِﻫ ٍﺮ ﻧَــﺎ ِﻃﻖ‬ ً ‫ﺛَ ـﺎ ِري َﻣ ـ َﻊ إ َِﻣ ـﺎ ِم ُ ﻫـ‬ ،‫ﺑِﺎﻟـ ْ َﺤ ِّﻖ ِﻣﻨْ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ‫ ا َ ﺑِـ َﺤ ّﻘِ ُﻜ ْﻢ َ وﺑِﺎﻟ َّﺸﺄ ْ ِن اﻟـَّ ِﺬي‬ ‫َوأ َ ْﺳﺄ ُل‬

‫ َ ِﲏ ﺑِـ ُﻤ َﺼ ِﺎﰊ ﺑِ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬J‫ أ َ ْن ﻳُﻌْ ِﻄ‬2ُ ‫ﻟ َ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِ ﻋﻨْ َﺪ‬ ،‫َﺘِ ِﻪ‬R‫أَﻓْ َﻀ َـﻞ َ ﻣـﺎ ﻳُﻌْ ِﻄـﻲ ُ ﻣ َﺼـﺎﺑﺎ ًﺑِــ ُﻤ ِﺼﻴ‬ َ َ ِ ‫ـﻢ َ ر ِزﻳَّﺘَﻬَـﺎ‬ َ ‫ﺒَﺔً َ ﻣﺎ أ ْﻋ َﻈ َﻤﻬـﺎ َ وأ ْﻋ َﻈ‬J‫ُﻣﺼ‬

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance and what great sorrow and tragedies you faced! How great was your tragedy for Isl{m and for all of the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth! O’ All{h! Make me at this moment, one who receives from You prayers, mercy and forgiveness. O’ All{h! Make me live the life of Muƒammad and the family of Muƒammad; and permit me to die the death of Muƒammad and the family of Muƒammad.

O’ All{h! This is the day (the Day of ÝÀshur{) which the Ban| Umayyah rejoiced upon (and is the day when the) son of the liver eater (meaning the son of Hind b. Ab} Sufy{n – MuÝ{wiyah and his son Yaz|d) celebrated, the cursed son(s) (Yaz|d) of the cursed (MuÝ{wiyah), as said by You and Your Prophet at every place and occasion. O’ All{h! Curse Ab} Sufy{n and MuÝ{wiyah and Yaz|d b.

ِ ِ ‫ﻟﺴـــــﻤﻮ‬ ِ ‫ات‬ َ ٰ َّ ‫ِﰲ ا ِﻹ ْﺳـــــﻼ َم َ و ِﰲ َﲨﻴـــــ ِﻊ ا‬

j‫َواﻷ َ ْر ِض‬

‫ اﺟﻌَﻠْـ ِـﲏ ِ ﰲ َ ﻣﻘَــﺎ ِﻣﻲ ﻫٰـ َﺬا ﻣ ـِـ َّﻤ ْﻦ‬ َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬ ْ ‫ـﻢ‬ ،ٌ‫ﲪ ٌﺔ َ و َﻣﻐ ْ ِﻔ َﺮة‬ َ ْ‫ﺗَﻨ َﺎﻟ ُ ُﻪ ِﻣﻨ‬ ٌ َ ‫ﻚ َﺻﻠ‬ َ ْ ‫ﻮات َ و َر‬ ‫ﺎي َ ﻣ ــ ْﺤﻴ َﺎ ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ـ ٍﺪ‬ َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬ ْ ‫ـﻢ‬ َ َ ‫ اﺟﻌَـ ْـﻞ َ ﻣ ــ ْﺤﻴ‬

ِ ‫َو‬ ‫ﺎت ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ـ ٍﺪ‬ َ ‫ َ و َﻣ ــ َﻤ ِﺎﰐ َ ﻣ ــ َﻤ‬،‫آل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ـ ٍﺪ‬ ِ ‫َو‬ j‫آل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ‬

‫ـﺖ ﺑِ ـ ِﻪ ﺑَﻨُ ـﻮ‬ َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬ َّ َ َ‫ـﻢ إ َِّن ﻫٰ ـ َﺬا ﻳ َـ ْﻮ ٌم ﺗ‬ ْ ‫ﱪ َﻛـ‬ ِ ِ ‫ُ ﺑ‬ َِ ِ ‫ـﲔ اﺑْـ ُﻦ‬ ُ ‫ اﻟﻠ ّﻌ‬،‫أ َﻣﻴَّﺔَ َ وا ْ ُﻦ آ ﻠَﺔ اﻷ َ ْﻛﺒَـﺎد‬ ِ ‫ﻚ َ وﻟ ِ َﺴـ‬ ِ ِ‫اﻟﻠَّﻌ‬ ‫ـﻚ ِ ﰲ‬ َ ّ ِ‫ِﻴ‬Rَ‫ﺎن ﻧ‬ َ ِ‫ ٰ ﻟ ِ َﺴـﺎﻧ‬6‫ﲔ َـ‬ ٍ ِ‫ ُ ّ ِﻞ َﻣ ْﻮ ِﻃﻦٍ َو َﻣ ْﻮﻗ‬ j‫ﻚ‬ َ ُّ ‫ِﻴ‬Rَ‫ﻒ َ وﻗَ َﻒ ﻓِﻴ ِﻪ ﻧ‬

َ َ‫ﺎن َ و ُﻣﻌَﺎ ِوﻳَـــﺔ‬ َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬ َ َ ‫ــﻢ اﻟْﻌَـــ ْﻦ أﺑَـــﺎ ُ ﺳـــ ْﻔﻴ‬ xiii

ÝArabic & English Text of Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{ MuÝ{wiyah – upon them may Your curse be forever and eternity. And this is the day when the family of Ziy{d were happy and so were the family of Marw{n at their killing of Íusayn, may the Prayers of All{h be upon him. O’ All{h! Increase upon them (the enemies) Your curse and (Your) painful punishment.

O’ All{h! Surely I seek nearness to you on this day (the Day of ÝÀshur{) and in this place (which I am in) and in all of the days of my life by disassociating myself from these people and sending curses upon them and through my love and friendship to Your Prophet and the family of Your Prophet, peace be upon him and upon all of them.

‫ﻚ اﻟﻠَّﻌْﻨ َ ُﺔ‬ َ ْ‫ﻳﺪ ﺑْ َﻦ ُ ﻣﻌَﺎ ِوﻳ َ َﺔ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻬ ْﻢ ِﻣﻨ‬ َ ‫َوﻳ َ ِﺰ‬

‫ـﺖ ﺑِـ ِﻪ‬ ْ ‫ َ وﻫٰ َﺬا ﻳَـ ْﻮ ٌم ﻓَ ِﺮ َﺣ‬،‫أَﺑَ َﺪ اﻷ َﺑِ ِﺪﻳ َﻦ‬

‫ان ﺑِﻘَــــــﺘْﻠِ ِﻬ ُﻢ‬ ُ ‫آل ِزﻳَــــــﺎ ٍد َ و‬ ُ َ ‫آل َﻣــــــ ْﺮ َو‬

ِ ‫ﻮات‬ ‫ـﻢ‬ َّ ‫ أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ‬j‫ ا َﻠَﻴْـ ِﻪ‬ ُ َ ‫ﲔ َﺻـﻠ‬ َ ْ ‫اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ِ ‫ﻓَ َﻀـــــ‬ ‫ــــﻚ‬ َ ‫ﺎﻋ ْﻒ َﻠَـــــﻴ ْ ِﻬ ُﻢ اﻟﻠَّﻌْـــــ َﻦ ِﻣﻨْـ‬ ِ j‫ﻴﻢ‬ َ َ‫َواﻟْﻌ‬ َ ‫ﺬاب اﻷ َﻟ‬

‫ـــﻚ ِ ﰲ ﻫٰــــ َﺬا‬ َ ‫ـــﻢ إ ِِّﱐ أَﺗَﻘَــــ َّﺮ ُب إِﻟَﻴْـ‬ َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬ ‫ـﺎﰐ‬ ِ َ ‫ َ وأَﻳَّـﺎ ِم َ ﺣﻴ‬،‫ َ و ِﰲ َﻣ ْﻮﻗِ ِﻔﻲ ﻫٰ َﺬا‬،‫اﻟْﻴ َ ْﻮ ِم‬ ِ ‫ واﻟﻠَّﻌﻨـ‬،‫ﺑِـــﺎﻟْﱪاء ِة ِﻣـــﻨْﻬﻢ‬ ،‫ــﺔ َﻠَـــﻴ ْ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬ َْ َ ْ ُ َ ََ ِ ‫ـﻚ َ و‬ ‫ـﻚ َﻠَﻴ ْـ ِﻪ‬ َ ‫ ِِﻴ ّـ‬Rَ‫آل ﻧ‬ َ ‫ ِِﻴ ّـ‬Rَ‫َوﺑِﺎﻟـ ْـ ُﻤ َﻮاﻻ َ ِة ﻟِﻨ‬ j‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم‬ َّ ‫َو َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻬ ُﻢ ا‬

It is recommended to recite the following passage 100 times: O’ All{h! Curse the first tyrant who oppressed the right of Muƒammad, and the family of Muƒammad and the next person who followed him on this path. O’ All{h! Curse the xiv

ِ َ ‫ــﻢ َﺣـــ َّﻖ‬ َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬ َ ‫ــﻢ اﻟْﻌَـــ ْﻦ أ َّو َل َ ﻇـــﺎﻟ ٍﻢ َ ﻇﻠَـ‬ ِ ‫ُﳏ َ َّﻤـ ٍﺪ َ و‬ ٰ 6‫آل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤـ ٍﺪ َ وآ ِﺧـ َﺮ ﺗَــﺎﺑِ ٍﻊ ﻟـ َ ُـﻪ َـ‬ ‫ــﻢ اﻟْﻌَـــ ِﻦ اﻟْﻌِ َﺼـــﺎﺑَﺔَ اﻟـَّ ِــﱵ‬ َ ‫ذ ٰﻟِـ‬ َّ ‫ أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬j‫ــﻚ‬

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance group who fought against Íusayn and those who followed them and supported them and assisted them in killing him. O’ All{h, curse all of them!

ِ َ ‫ﺎﻫـ‬ ‫ﲔ َ و َﺷــــــﺎﻳَﻌَ ْﺖ‬ َ ‫َﺟ‬ َ ْ ‫ـــــﺪت اﻟـ ْــــــ ُﺤ َﺴ‬

‫ـﻢ‬ َّ ‫ أَﻟﻠ ُﻬـ‬،‫ ٰ ﻗَﺘْﻠِ ـ ِﻪ‬6‫ـﺖ َـ‬ ْ ‫ـﺖ َ وﺗَﺎﺑَﻌَـ‬ ْ ‫َوﺑَﺎﻳَﻌَـ‬

jً ‫اﻟْﻌَﻨْ ُﻬ ْﻢ َ ﲨِﻴﻌﺎ‬

It is recommended to recite the following passage 100 times: Peace be upon you O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h and upon the souls which were annihilated with you. Upon you, from me, is the peace of All{h for eternity, as long as the night and the day remain and please do not make this (Ziy{rat) my last contact with you. Greetings be upon Íusayn, and upon ÝAl| the son of Íusayn and upon the children of Íusayn and upon the companions of Íusayn.

ِ ‫ـﻚ ﻳ َـﺎ أَﺑَـﺎ ﻋَﺒـ ِﺪ‬ ٰ 6‫ا َ و َـ‬ َ ‫ﻟﺴـﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴْـ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬ ْ ‫ـﻚ‬ َ ْ ‫ َﻠَﻴ‬،‫ـﻚ‬ َ ‫اﻷ َ ْر َوا ِح اﻟ َّ ِﱵ َ ﺣﻠ َّ ْﺖ ﺑِ ِﻔﻨ َﺂ ِﺋ‬ َ ِ ‫ِﻣـ ِ ّـﲏ ﺳـﻼ َم‬ ِ ‫ـﺖ َ وﺑَﻘِـ َﻲ‬ ُ ‫ ا أﺑَــﺪا ً َ ﻣـﺎ ﺑَﻘﻴـ‬ ُ َ َ ‫ ا آ ِﺧ ـ َﺮ‬ ُ ‫ َ وﻻ َ َ ﺟﻌَﻠَـ ُـﻪ‬،‫اﻟﻠ ّﻴْـ ُـﻞ َ واﻟﻨَّﻬَ ـ ُﺎر‬ ِ ِ ِ ٰ 6‫ﻟﺴـﻼ َ ُم َـ‬ َّ َ ‫ أ‬،‫ﺎرﺗِ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ‫اﻟْﻌَﻬْﺪ ﻣ ِ ّـﲏ ﻟ ِﺰﻳَـ‬ ِ ْ ‫ ٰ َﻠِـ ِّﻲ ﺑْـ ِﻦ اﻟـ ْـ ُﺤ َﺴ‬6‫ َ و َـ‬،‫ﲔ‬ ِ ْ ‫اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ،‫ﲔ‬

َ ِ ‫ـﺤ‬ ِ ْ ‫ ٰ أ َ ْوﻻ َ ِد اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬6َ ‫َو‬ ‫ﺎب‬ َ ‫ ٰ أ ْﺻ‬6‫ َ و َـ‬،‫ﲔ‬

ِ ْ ‫اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ j‫ﲔ‬

O’ All{h! Particularly curse the first tyrant, a curse from me, and begin the first curse with him and then send the curse on the second, and the third, and then the fourth (tyrant). O’ All{h curse Yaz|d, the fifth

‫ـﺖ أ َ َّو َل ﻇـﺎﻟ ِ ٍﻢ ﺑِـﺎﻟﻠَّﻌْ ِﻦ‬ َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ ُﺧ‬ َ ْ ‫ﺺ أَﻧ‬

ِ ‫ـﻢ اﻟْﻌَـ ِﻦ اﻟﺜَّـ‬ َّ ‫ ُﺛ‬،ً‫ـﺪأْ ﺑِـ ِﻪ أ َ َّوﻻ‬ َ ْ‫ َ واﺑ‬،‫ِﻣ ِ ّـﲏ‬ َ ‫ـﺎﱐ‬ ِ َ ِ ‫ﻳـﺪ‬ َ ‫ـﻢ اﻟْﻌَـ ْﻦ ﻳ َ ِﺰ‬ َ ‫َواﻟﺜ َّﺎﻟ‬ َّ ‫ أﻟﻠ ُﻬ‬j‫ﺚ َ واﻟ َّﺮاﺑ َﻊ‬ xv

ÝArabic & English Text of Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{ (tyrant) and curse ÝUbaydull{h b. Ziy{d and Ibne Marj{nah and ÝUmar b. SaÝd and Shimr and the family of Sufy{n, and the family of Ziy{d, and the family of Marw{n until the day of Judgement.

‫ا ◌ِﺑْ ـ َﻦ ِزﻳــﺎ ٍد‬ َ ‫َﻴْـ‬Rُ ‫ َ واﻟْﻌَ ـ ْﻦ‬،ً‫َﺧﺎ ِﻣﺴ ـﺎ‬ ّٰ ‫ـﺪ‬

‫َواﺑْــــ َﻦ َﻣ ْﺮ َﺟﺎﻧـَـــﺔَ َ و ُﻋ َﻤــــ َﺮ ﺑْــــ َﻦ َ ﺳــــﻌْ ٍﺪ‬ َ َ ‫و ِﺷــــ ْﻤﺮاً و‬ ‫آل ِزﻳَـــﺎ ٍد‬ َ ‫ﺎن َو‬ َ َ ‫آل أ ِﰊ ُ ﺳـــ ْﻔﻴ‬ َ َ j‫ان إِﱃ ٰﻳ َ ْﻮ ِم اﻟْﻘِﻴ َ َﺎﻣ ِﺔ‬ َ ‫َو‬ َ ‫آل َﻣ ْﺮ َو‬

The following passage must be read while in Sajdah: O’ All{h! To you belongs all the praise, the praise of those who are thankful to You for their tribulations. All Praise belongs to All{h for my intense grief. O’ All{h, grant me the blessing of intercession of Íusayn on the Day of Appearance (before You) and strengthen me with a truthful stand in Your presence along with Íusayn and the companions of Íusayn – those people who sacrificed everything for Íusayn, peace be upon him.

xvi

‫ـﺪ اﻟ َّﺸـﺎ ِﻛﺮِﻳ َﻦ‬ َ َ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ ﻟ‬ َ ‫ﲪ‬ ْ َ ‫ﻚ اﻟـ ْـ َﺤ ْﻤ ُﺪ‬

ِ ِ ‫ أ َﻟ ْــﺤﻤ ُﺪ‬j‫ ﻣ َﺼــﺎﺑِ ِﻬﻢ‬6‫ـﻚ َـ‬ ٰ 6‫ َـ‬ ْ َ ْ ُ ٰ َ َ ‫ﻟـ‬ َ ِ ‫ﻋَ ِﻈ‬ َ‫ ار ُزﻗْ ِﲏ َﺷ َﻔﺎﻋَﺔ‬ ْ ‫ أﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ‬j‫ﻴﻢ َ ر ِزﻳ َّ ِﱵ‬ ِ ْ ‫اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ‫ـﺪ َم‬ َ َ‫ َو ﺛَﺒِّ ْﺖ ِ ﱄ ﻗ‬،‫ﲔ ﻳ َ ْﻮ َم اﻟ ُْﻮ ُرو ِد‬ ِ ْ ‫ك َﻣــــــ َﻊ اﻟـ ْــــــ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ‫ﲔ‬ َ ‫ـــــﺪ‬ َ ‫ِﺻــــــ ْﺪقٍ ِ ﻋﻨْـ‬

َ ِ ‫ــﺤ‬ ِ ْ ‫ﺎب اﻟْـــ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ‫ﲔ اﻟَّــ ِﺬﻳ َﻦ ﺑَــ َﺬﻟُﻮا‬ َ ‫َوأ ْﺻ‬

ِ ْ ‫ون ا ْﳊ ُ َﺴ‬ ‫ــــــﲔ˛ َﻠَﻴْــــــ ِﻪ‬ َ ‫ـــــﻢ ُ د‬ ْ ‫ُﻣﻬَ َﺠ ُﻬـ‬

j‫اﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم‬ َّ

Ziy{rat and DuÝ{ The duÝ{ (supplication) is the act of speaking to All{h i; while ziy{rat (visitation) is the act of speaking to the role-models and true examples of the faith sent by All{h i. Nevertheless, ziy{rat itself is also a form of speaking with All{h i since the individuals being addressed are the Prophets and the Im{ms who are individuals that invite humanity to the worship of the one true God, and to struggle against the internal and external enemies. Thus in reality, the ziy{rat is nothing more than speaking to All{h i through the intermediaries which He Himself has appointed in order for us to reach perfection. The duÝ{ is an act of travelling towards All{h-consciousness and self-knowledge; while the aim of ziy{rat is knowledge of the Im{m – and in actuality this is the same as having knowledge of All{h i and knowledge of ourselves. Within the supplications taught by the Ahlul Bayt , there are four main points that can be seen:

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance 1) Shedding of tears and showing grief; 2) Expressing one’s needs; 3) Gaining a better understanding of the faith and beliefs; and 4) The invitation to stand up and fight against the enemies – both the internal and external ones. This is the same thing which can be seen in the ziy{r{t as well, however at the same time, we are calling upon and remembering those personalities who are the best and most perfect examples of the above four characteristics. By this we mean that the Ahlul Bayt are the ones whose tears which they shed in their prayers are the most sincere drops of grief; they are best able to express their needs to their Creator in the most eloquent of ways; their understanding of the faith was the most complete and perfect; and lastly, they were the ultimate manifestation of those who stood up and fought against both their internal enemies and the external despots – each one in their own way and method. Among all of the ziy{r{t that we have, the best example in which these four points are manifest is that of Im{m Íusayn – especially since he was the supreme expression of rising up for All{h i and standing up in the face of oppression and tyranny.

The Ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn The aƒ{d|th which speak about the ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn refer to it as being an obligatory (w{jib) act which each person who claims to be a Sh|Ýa must perform at least once in his life time (this is in reference to the physical visitation of the Im{m at his shrine in Karbal{Þ – since the spiritual meeting of the Im{m from wherever one lives through the recitation of the words given to us can be performed at any time and any place). Is this “w{jib” commandment in the narrations the same “w{jib” which we understand for acts of worship such as Åajj, 2

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance khums, sal{t, ‚awm, etc? Through this discussion and commentary of this ziy{rat, we hope to clarify this issue, however it suffices to mention here that this is an act which the Prophet of Isl{m told his daughter, F{„imah az-Zahr{ , that a group of her Sh|Ýa (followers) would perform (this was foretold over 50 years before the event even occurred) and it is something which every Im{m has emphasized to their followers! There are numerous benefits which have been promised that will be granted to the one who pays his respects to the 3rd Im{m some of which include: one’s sins will be forgiven; an increase in and also Divine blessings in one’s life; removal of difficulties and the acceptance of one’s legitimate desires and appeals. In addition, the ziy{rat of the 3rd Im{m is equivalent to the (spiritual) visitation of All{h i and the visitation to His Noble Prophet ! It goes without saying that such benefits are not acquired simply by a physical visit to Karbal{Þ without any positive change in the morals and character of a person. This point shall be elucidated upon in detail in our next discussion, God willing so that we do not think that by a mere journey of a few hours and the recitation of a few words, that we truly become deserving of such bounties!

Benefits of the Ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn The benefits of visiting the Leader of the Martyrs can be divided into two categories: individual benefits and the societal gains. Although both of these categories contain numerous subcategories, we will only look at one of each in order to keep this discussion brief. 1: Individual Benefits: Without doubt, visiting the Im{ms, especially Sayyid ash-Shuhada has a great individual benefit to it since the true meaning of ziy{rat is “to meet someone” and “being one and united” with the person whom we are encountering 3

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance – either through a physical engagement or a spiritual and esoteric meeting. From one point of view, we know that these personalities are infallible and without doubt, when a person meets those whom he likes to be around and are his friends, he takes on their characteristics and tries hard to be like them to “fit in” (positive peer pressure). Thus, when a person goes to meet those who are the closest to All{h i in the spiritual hierarchy and who are the most righteous from the point of view of their actions and demeanor, one should definitely seek to emulate and be like them! Just like a person who has been invited to meet the political head of a country or another great personality would ensure that one looks presentable and would make sure that he has showered, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, worn the best clothing and applied the best perfume, similarly when a person goes to meet personalities such as the Prophet of Isl{m and the Im{ms , one too must ensure that not only is he presentable from the physical point of view, but more importantly that one’s inside is purified from all sins as well. It is for this reason that tawbah or asking forgiveness and turning back to All{h i is one of the introductory steps before a person even entertains the thought of going for ziy{rat. Therefore, one of the benefits of the ziy{rat is both a physical cleaning of our body and also a spiritual cleansing of our heart! Is it possible for a person who says ‘As-Sal{mu ÝAlayka Y{ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h’ to be negligent of the noble ethical traits which this Im{m best exemplified? Is it possible for a person who says ‘AsSal{mu ÝAlayka Y{ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h’ to be one who worships his lower desires, the wealth of the world or who shows veneration to the open enemies of All{h i? If we see that we have gone to visit the Prophet or any of our A’immah while we still have these negative traits within us, then we should be sure that there are some shortcomings in regards to our visitation. 4

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance 2: The societal benefits: The second type of benefit which we gain from this visitation can be best understood if we analyze the reasons why the enemies of the Ahlul Bayt have prevented the Sh|Ýa from visiting their Im{ms – those buried in Madinah and ÝIr{q, and more importantly, the one buried in Karbal{Þ. The enemies of the Ahlul Bayt , especially the Ban| Umayyah, Ban| ÝAbb{s and even today’s enemies knew and know the power of the ziy{rat. They have probably studied the philosophy and true meaning of the ziy{rat better than we have and thus, understand that if it is carried out with a complete awareness of the individual whom we are paying our respects to, then one’s own struggles against injustice and the motives of rising up for All{h i, would be instilled in the hearts of those visiting them and that a great revolution would take place in the different lands! They know that the true meaning of the ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn is the rejection and overthrow of ‘their version’ of Isl{m; and an acceptance and implementation of the true visage of Isl{m which calls for justice, equality and freedom for everyone. The societal effects of this ziy{rat are ones which affect all the aspects of one’s life – economics, social welfare, arts and humanities, literature, etc... In addition, something as “simple” as the placing of the turbah (the small clay tablet which Muslims prostrate upon during the ‚al{t) reminds us of two things: one is that we are all from All{h i and we were created from the ground, and it is back into this Earth that we shall return. However more importantly we are reminded that if we are to go back to All{h i, then the best way to return back to Him is through losing our life on the plains of Karbal{Þ – not necessarily the physical land of Karbal{Þ in ÝIr{q, rather as the popular saying goes, ‘Every day is ÝÀshur{ and every land is Karbal{Þ.’

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

Why Ziy{rat ÝÀshur{? Among all of the rites of visitation which we can read when we want to salute Im{m Íusayn and his family and companions, the best and most highly recommended one is Ziy{rat ÝÀshur{. In this comprehensive visitation, we combine the concepts of tawall{ (love for the sake of All{h i) and tabarr{ (hate for the sake of All{h i), the culture of self-sacrifice for the lofty goals of the society, and the fact that we must NEVER succumb to oppression and tyranny. In addition, through such an encompassing prayer, the issues of tawƒ|d (oneness of All{h i), nubuwwat (accepting the prophethood of all 124,000 thousand prophets, specifically the final Prophet, MuÅammad ) and maÝ{d (the belief in the life after death and the various stages of the next world) are explained and we realize that without Im{mate, these three principle beliefs have no meaning or power to them! The truth of this statement is clear because if we look through history, these three beliefs have never brought about any serious change in the Muslim state of affairs [just look at the state of the “Muslims” today throughout the world], nor have these three beliefs been able to conquer foreign occupiers of the Muslim lands on their own, nor expel foreign entities who have illegally occupied our sovereign countries! One Qur’{nic proof of this point is the verse of mub{hilah or imprecation (3:59-63) in which the Christians who had come to debate the Prophet about the true character of Jesus , the son of Mary, brought forth a very interesting point which all Muslims can learn from:

ّٰ َ ْ َََ ََ َ ُ ََ َ ََ ْ ‫ـﻪ ﻣ‬ ٰ ‫ـﻦ‬ ِ ‫ـﻞ آدم ﺧﻠﻘ‬ ِ ‫ ِﻋﻨﺪ اﻟﻠــ ِﻪ ﻛ َﻤﺜ‬n‫ إِن ﻣﺜﻞ ِﻋﻴ‬ ْ ُ ُ َ ُ َ َ َ ُ َ َ َ َُ ‫ أﻟـ َﺤ ُّﻖ ِﻣ ْﻦ َر ِّﺑـﻚ ﻓـﻼ‬.‫اب ﻋ ﻢ ﻗﺎل ُ! ﻛ ْﻦ ﻓﻴَﻜﻮن‬ ٍ ‫ﺗﺮ‬

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

َ َ َْ ُ ْ َ ْ ُ َ َ ْ ‫ ﻓ َﻤ ْﻦ َﺣﺂ ﺟﻚ ِﻓﻴ ِﻪ ِﻣ ْﻦ َﻧﻌ ِﺪ َﻣـﺎ‬.‫ﻳﻦ‬ ‫ﺮﺘ‬ ِ ‫ﺗﻜﻦ ِﻣﻦ اﻟـﻤﻤ‬ َ َ َ َ َُْ ْ ْ َ َ ُ َْ ُ َ ‫َﺟﺂ َء َك ِﻣ َﻦ اﻟ ِﻌﻠ ِﻢ ﻓﻘﻞ ﻳ َﻌﺎﻟ ْﻮا ﻧﺪع أ ْﻧﻨﺂ َءﻧﺎ َوأ ْﻧﻨﺂ َءﻛ ْﻢ‬ ْ َْ ُ ْ ُ َ ََُْ َ َ ََُْ ْ ُ َ َ َ ََ َ َ ‫ـﻢ ﻧﺒﺘَ ِﻬـﻞ‬ ‫وﻧِﺴﺂءﻧﺎ وﻧِﺴﺂءﻛﻢ وأﻏﻔﺴﻨﺎ وأﻏﻔﺴﻜﻢ ﻋ‬ َ ّٰ َ َ ْ َ ْ ْ َ َ َْ ٰ َ َ َ ‫ إِن ٰﻫــﺬا ﻟ ــ ُﻬ َﻮ‬.‫ـﻦﻴ‬ ‫ﺒﻟ اﻟﺎﻜ ِذﻧِـ‬ ‫ﻓﻨﺠ َﻌــﻞ ﻟﻌﻨــﺔ اﻟﻠ ــ ِﻪ‬ ْ ّٰ ٰ َ َ ّٰ َْ ‫اﻟﻘ َﺼ ُﺺ اﻟـ َﺤ ُّﻖ َو َﻣﺎ ِﻣ ْﻦ إِ ٍ! إِﻻ اﻟﻠـ ِﻪ َو[ِن اﻟﻠـﻪ ﻟــ ُﻬ َﻮ‬ ْ ُ ْ َ ّٰ َ ْ َ َ ْ َ ُ ٌ ‫ـﻪ َﻋﻠ‬ ‫ــﻴﻢ‬ ‫ ﻓــﺈِن ﺗﻮﻟــﻮا ﻓــﺈِن اﻟﻠــ‬.‫ﻜــﻴﻢ‬ ‫اﻟ َﻌ ِﺰ‬ ِ َ ‫ﻳــﺰ اﺤﻟ‬ ِ َ ‫ﺑﺎﻟْـ ُﻤ ْﻔﺴﺪ‬ ‫ﻳﻦ‬ ِ ِ ِ “Indeed the case of Jesus with God is like the case of Adam: He created him from dust, then said to him, ‘Be,’ and he was. This is the truth from your Lord, so do not be among the skeptics. Should anyone argue with you concerning him, after the knowledge that has come to you, say, ‘Come! Let us call our sons and your sons, our women and your women, our souls and your souls, then let us pray earnestly and call down God’s curse upon the liars.’ This is indeed the true account, for sure. There is no god but God, and indeed God is the All-mighty, the All-wise. But if they turn away, indeed God knows best the agents of corruption.” The delegation told the other Christians that if Muƒammad brings his companions to the mub{hilah field then to go ahead and challenge them (since the companions - on their own - have no power or strength). However if Muƒammad brings his Ahlul Bayt (meaning Im{m ÝAl|, F{„imah, Íasan and Íusayn ) then they must not go against him as they would definitely perish!

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance Thus, if the Christians of Najr{n knew the power of the Ahlul Bayt, then this is something which the rest of the Muslim Ummah also need to realize and accept! Therefore, by reading the Ziy{rat of ÝÀshur{, we are actually seeking to keep the Isl{m of Prophet Muƒammad , Im{m ÝAl| , Im{m Íasan and Im{m Íusayn .... up until Im{m alÍujjah alive and through this visitation, we reject the ‘Isl{m’ of the likes of Ab} Sufy{n, the first, second and third “Caliphs”, MuÝ{wiyah, Yaz|d and the entire polluted chain of Ban| Umayyah, Ban| ÝAbb{s and others.

Etiquette of the Ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn When visiting the shrine of Im{m Íusayn , we must first off realize who we are going to visit and the etiquette which we must observe. Just as we spend time to look presentable when we have an important business meeting or a luncheon with a client, similarly when we go to meet the representative of All{h i on the Earth, we must also observe these and many other norms and etiquette. In a lengthy ƒad|th narrated by Muƒammad b. Muslim, he asked Im{m Muƒammad b. ÝAl| al-B{qir in regards to the etiquette of the ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn . He specifically asked the Im{m, “Is it not the same as visiting the house of All{h and performing the Hajj?” The Im{m replied, “But of course it is.” The companion then asked, “Thus, are all of the things which the Íujjaj must observe also necessary for me to perform?” The Im{m replied: “It is incumbent upon you to deal with those who travel with you with goodness; you should speak less except for the remembrance of All{h; and you must ensure that you are wearing clean clothes...” The Im{m went on to list over 15 conditions for a visitor of Im{m Íusayn and concluded his statement by telling Ibne

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance Muslim that, “If you observe all of these conditions, then you will receive the reward as if you have performed a Íajj and ÝUmrah…” These are obviously related to that person who is able to physically perform the ziy{rat, however many of them can also be performed by those who are reading this ziy{rat from far away. In summary, the things which these kinds of aƒ{d|th teach us are that we need to mould our lives spiritually to conform with the way of life of the person whom we are visiting. We need to show humility and humbleness in our day to day life [this can be seen in the fact that when we perform the ziy{rat we are recommended to go barefoot and walk with tranquility], we need to always look presentable when interacting with others [we are advised to wear clean, white clothes and apply perfume to ourselves], we need to be ready and willing to assist those less fortunate than ourselves [it is recommended to give ‚adaqa before the ziy{rat and to offer a gift to others], and we need to show moderation in our lifestyle [we are told that we should not eat heavy and fatty foods before such visits which may make us feel tired and lazy.] In addition to the etiquette of ziy{rat related to our physical presence, we must also remember the spiritual etiquette – the most important one being the rejection of all external despots and enemies and that if we need to be killed to keep our honour and dignity (just as Im{m Íusayn did), then so be it. After all, Sayyid ash-Shuhada has told us that:

ُّ ٌ َْ ٌ ‫ﺰ َﺧ‬f ‫ت ﻲﻓ ﻋ‬ ‫ﺮﻴ ِﻣ ْﻦ َﺣﻴَﺎ ٍة ِﻲﻓ ذ ٍل‬ ِ ِ ‫ﻣﻮ‬

“A death in dignity is better than a life in humiliation.”

Section One

ِ ‫ﻮل‬ ِ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ أَﺑَﺎ ﻋَﺒ ِﺪ‬ ِ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ ﺑْ َﻦ َ ر ُﺳ‬ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َّ َ ‫ أ‬، ‫ا‬ َّ َ ‫ أ‬، ‫ ا‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬ ْ َِ ِِ ِ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ ﺑْ َﻦ‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َ ْ ‫ َﻠَﻴ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬،‫ﲔ‬ َ ّ ‫ َ واﺑْ َﻦ َ ﺳ ِﻴ ّﺪ اﻟ َْﻮ ِﺻ ِﻴ‬،‫ﲔ‬ َ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ ﺑْ َﻦ أﻣ ِﲑ اﻟـْ ُﻤ ْﺆﻣﻨ‬ ِ ِ ِِ ِ ،‫ﲔ‬ َ ‫ﻓَﺎﻃ َﻤﺔَ َ ﺳﻴِ ّ َﺪة ﻧﺴﺂء اﻟْﻌﺎﻟـ َﻤ‬

Peace be upon you O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h; Peace be upon you O’ son of the Messenger of All{h; Peace be upon you O’ son of the Commander of the Faithful and the son of the leader of the inheritors (of the Prophet); Peace be upon you O’ son of F{„imah, the leader of the women of the entire Universe. One of the etiquettes and traditions which is seen in all civilizations is the act of greeting one another at the time of meeting and departing. As we know, each culture greets in their own specific manner. The manner of those in the “West” is that of shaking hands; the far East cultures greet one another by slightly bending at the waist; yet others would remove their hat or at least tip the rim of the hat to greet another person. One of the traditions of the ÝArabs was to say “May All{h keep you alive”, however with the dawn of Isl{m, the greeting, as the Qur’{n itself mentions is the saying of “As-Sal{m ÝAlaykum” or “Peace be upon you”. The true meaning of “As-Sal{m ÝAlaykum” is not a mere “Hi,” “Hello,” “How are you?” as we are accustomed to using today – it has a much deeper meaning than just a standard greeting. In actuality, there are three meanings for this greeting: 1.

As-Sal{m, as we know, is one of the names of All{h. Thus, when we say “As-Sal{mu ÝAlaykum” we are actually saying

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance that may the trait of All{h (As-Sal{m or peace and tranquility) be upon you and may He protect you; 2. As-Sal{m is also in the meaning of submission or surrender. Thus, when we say “As-Sal{mu ÝAlaykum” we are actually saying that we submit to what you would like for us to do (obviously within the limits of the religion.); 3.

As-Sal{m is also in the meaning of protection or safety. Thus in this meaning, when we greet another believer with “As-Sal{mu ÝAlaykum” we are actually guaranteeing our believing brother or sister protection from any evil from ourselves and that we will not do a single thing to harm them – neither physically nor even spiritually. Not only would we not harm them with our hands, but we will also not cause them grief with our tongues.

Therefore when we address Ab| ÝAbdill{h and say “As-Sal{mu ÝAlayka Y{ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h” we are saying that: ‘May the peace and tranquility which All{h bestows upon His creations also be showered upon you. Truly, we submit to your mission and commandments and whatever you ask us to do. In addition, we will not do a single thing to hurt you – whether your physical presence and even more importantly, your inner feelings.’ In actuality, we are promising the Im{m that we will not break the laws of All{h i (since our Im{m grieves when he sees us doing this), nor will we do anything to trample on the sacred goals and objectives which he laid down his life to protect. Literally, ÝAbdull{h means the ‘worshipper of All{h’ and therefore the meaning of Ab{ ÝAbdill{h is the ‘father of the worshipper of All{h’. The custom of the Arabs was that if a person possessed a specific characteristic, then they would refer to him as the ‘father’ of that trait. Thus we see that Ab} Jahl was known as such not because his son was Jahl (ignorant) or named Jahl, rather it was due 12

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance to the fact that he best personified ignorance and it can be said that he was the “father (leader)” of ignorance! Thus, had Im{m Íusayn not risen and sacrificed his life on the plains of Karbal{Þ, today All{h i would not have been worshipped as He should be – the religion of Muƒammad would have been replaced with the laws of Yaz|d and his likes – thus, none of us would have been worthy of the name ‘ÝAbdull{h’ or servant of All{h i. With the martyrdom of Im{m Íusayn , he gave life to the title ‘ÝAbdull{h’ and ensured that we would worship All{h i as He deserves to be worshipped. Thus for this reason as well, he is known as the ‘father of the worshipper of All{h’. Therefore, any person who is blessed to be able to worship and submit to All{h i has been given this blessing through the blood of the 3rd Im{m . It is for this reason that we are told, “If it was not for him (Im{m Íusayn ) no one would have worshipped All{h i, or would anyone have gained cognizance of All{h i.” In this first line of the ziy{rat we greet the Im{m by recalling one of his greatest titles, and also by mentioning his lineage (his father and mother) and his grandfather – thus, we keep alive the mention of these personalities at a time when people want us to forget them and think about others! We also guarantee these four personalities that we will not transgress their teachings, nor will we do anything to cause them spiritual harm and grief.

Section Two

ِ ِ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ ﺛَﺎر‬ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َّ َ ‫ أ‬،‫ﻮر‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬ َ ‫ َ واﻟ ْ ِﻮﺗ َْﺮ اﻟـْ َﻤ ْﻮ ُﺗ‬2‫ ا َ واﺑْ َﻦ ﺛَﺎ ِر‬ َ ،‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫ ٰ اﻷ َ ْر َوا ِح اﻟ َّ ِﱵ َ ﺣﻠ َّ ْﺖ ﺑِ ِﻔﻨَﺂ ِﺋ‬6َ ‫َو‬

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance Peace be upon you O’ the one who was killed and whose blood has not yet been avenged – and whose avenging is in the hands of All{h and peace be upon you, the son of one who was killed and whose blood has not yet been avenged (Im{m ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib) and peace be upon you O’ the one who was alone, an individual (killed). Peace be upon you and also upon those souls who accompanied you to your annihilation. In order to better understand this line, it is necessary to offer the following introduction: The custom of the pre-Isl{mic ÝArabs was such that each extended family belonged to a particular clan or tribe. If a person of one tribe, such as Ban| Mudhirr was killed by someone from Ban| Kin{na, then the entire tribe of Ban| Kin{na was held responsible for this crime! A person from Ban| Mudhirr was “permitted” to kill anyone from the other tribe as retribution – even if that person was not guilty of the killing! Such a form of ‘collective guilt’ was the way of the backward Arabs and can even be seen today in some parts of the world! Isl{m came on the scene and said that the one who is guilty of a crime is the one who must do the time, and that ‘blind revenge’ is not permissible. It is through this custom that rivalries and wars came to a halt. The only people responsible in ensuring that one who was killed was avenged was his immediate family – mother, father, brother, etc... With this said, we see in another ziy{rat of Im{m Íusayn that we pray, “Surely you are the (metaphorical) blood of All{h on the earth and you are the blood which has not yet been avenged by a single person on the Earth, and which can not be avenged except by All{h, the One.” Therefore, the ‘avenger’ mentioned in this ziy{rat is not the avenger of an act done by one person upon another person, since 14

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance in this case it would have been settled between Im{m Zaynul ÝAbid|n and Shimr, Yaz|d and the others. This is not a killing which could be avenged in a few hours and with the killing of a few people. Rather, this is a case of avenging the death of a person who was the representative of All{h i over all of humanity for all time and is something which can only be carried out by the One who had sent such a representative. In closing, we recall the words of our 6th Im{m in DuÝ{ alNudbah where he cries out to the one who will avenge the blood on behalf of All{h:

َ ُ َ َْ َ َْ ْ َََْ َ َْ ْ ُ ‫ﺐ ﺑ ُﺬ‬ ُ ‫اﻟﻄﺎﻟ‬ ‫أَ ْﻓ َﻦ‬ ‫ﻮل اﻷﻧ ِﺒﻴﺎ ِء وأﻧﻨﺎ ِء اﻷﻧ ِﺒﻴﺎءِ؟ أﻓﻦ اﻟﻄﺎ ِﻟ‬ ‫ﺣ‬ ِ‫ﺐ ﺑِﺪم‬ ِ ِ ِ َ ُْ َْ َ ‫ﻜ ْﺮ َﺑ‬ ‫ﻼء؟‬ ِ ‫اﻟﻤﻘﺘ‬ ِ‫ﻮل ﺑ‬

“Where is the one who will avenge the blood of the murdered Prophets and the sons of the Prophets who were murdered? Where is he one who will avenge the blood of those killed in Karbal{Þ?”

Section Three

ً ‫ َﻠَﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِﻣ ِ ّﲏ َ ﲨِﻴﻌﺎ‬،‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫ ٰ اﻷ َ ْر َوا ِح اﻟ َّ ِﱵ َ ﺣﻠ َّ ْﺖ ﺑِ ِﻔﻨ َﺂ ِﺋ‬6َ ‫ﻚ َ و‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬ ِ ‫ﺳﻼ َم‬ َ ِ‫ ا أَﺑَﺪا ً َ ﻣﺎ ﺑَﻘِ ُ ﺑﻘ‬ ،‫ﻬﺎر‬ ُ َّ‫ﻴﺖ َ و َ َﻲ اﻟﻠ ّﻴ ْ ُﻞ َ واﻟﻨ‬ ُ َ Peace be upon you and also upon those souls who accompanied you to your annihilation. Upon you and upon all of those (who were killed) is the Salam of All{h from me for all of eternity, as long as the night and the day remain. This part of the ziy{rat includes salutations upon both the Im{m and also the pure companions who sacrificed their souls for the cause of Isl{m and this instills a greater sense of love and 15

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance respect for these individuals in our hearts. Through this greeting (and also keeping in mind the three definitions of ‘sal{m’ previously given), we make a pledge that our loyalty is to Im{m Íusayn and his companions. Our greetings and pledge to our Im{m do not end on the day of ÝÀshur{ – or even after ÝArba|n (the 40th day after the day of ÝÀshur{ marked as a day of intense grief and sorrow) – rather, our pledge continues “...as long as the night and the day remain.” Thus, for the true ShiÝ{, we keep our pledge and promise to the Im{m until we leave this world – and even beyond! It is clear why we greet and make this pledge to our Im{m , however is it right to make such a pact with the companions of the Im{m ? Without doubt, if we study the lives of the noble souls who accompanied the Im{m to Karbal{Þ and were martyred defending the Im{m , we see that they are truly worthy of submitting and pledging our allegiance to – this is definitely not something we see in some of the companions of the Prophet – especially those who were in the Battle of Uhud and fled the scene of the battle, looking for the spoils of war!

Section Four

ِ ‫ﻳَﺎ أَﺑَﺎ ﻋَﺒ ِﺪ‬ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ِ‫ﺒ َ ُﺔ ﺑ‬J‫ ﻟَﻘَ ْﺪ ﻋَ ُﻈ َﻤ ِﺖ اﻟ َّﺮ ِزﻳَّ ُﺔ َ و َﺟﻠ َّ ْﺖ َ وﻋَ ُﻈ َﻤ ِﺖ اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ ِﺼ‬، ‫ا‬ ْ ‫ﻚ ِ ﰲ‬ َ ُ‫َﺘ‬R‫ َ و َﺟﻠ َّ ْﺖ َ وﻋَ ُﻈ َﻤ ْﺖ ُ ﻣ ِﺼﻴ‬،‫ ٰ َﲨِﻴ ِﻊ أ َ ْﻫ ِﻞ ا ِ ◌ﻹ ِ ْﺳﻼ َ ِم‬6َ ‫ْﻨ َﺎ َ و‬Jَ‫ َﻠ‬ َ ِ ِ َّ ‫ا‬ ِ ‫ﻟﺴﻤﻮ‬ ،‫ات‬ َ ٰ َّ ‫ٰ َﲨﻴ ِﻊ أ ْﻫ ِﻞ ا‬6َ ‫ﻟﺴ ٰﻤ َﻮات‬ O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h! Surely the tribulations are great and unbearable and your tragedy is great for us, and for all of the people of Isl{m; it is unbearable and great is your tragedy in the heavens and for all of the dwellers of the heavens. 16

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance In this section of the ziy{rat, we address our Im{m directly and recall the tragedies which befell him, and our grief and remorse at what occurred on the plains of Karbal{Þ. The historians have stated that from the first day of creation until the Resurrection comes, the tribulations which Im{m Íusayn faced are the greatest and the most severe – and there is no other historical event which comes close to what he went through [events such as what transpired to the daughter of the Prophet, F{„imah az-Zahr{ and her husband Im{m ÝAl| are also tragic events in the life of the Ahlul Bayt and have their own ranking in terms of the tragedy and loss]. However, why such an emphasis on recalling this tragedy in this particular way and with such words? The late scholar, Àyatull{h Murta~{ Mu„ahhar| has written that, “Once, I sat down and tried to count the number of reasons why this event was so unbearable and I was able to come up with around twenty-one reasons and I do not think that there is any other single event in this world which could compare to this injustice...” When we study the event of Karbal{Þ we see that no one was spared – the infant child, the young adults, the grown men, the elderly people and even the women of the camp! Not only were they murdered in cold blood, but even after their death, they were not shown respect and this is evident from the trampling of their bodies by the horses and their decapitation and parading through the streets of K}fah and Sh{m (present day regions of Syria, Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon)! In addition, we read in the ziy{rat that this is a tribulation that not only the people of the Earth feel grief and cry about, but even the angels in the Heavens express remorse about! In this regards, we have numerous aƒ{dith, however it suffices us to quote the following from the 6th Im{m, Jafar b. Muƒammad as-Sadiq where he said, “What is wrong with you that you do not go (to the 17

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance ziy{rat of the grave of al-Íusayn)? Surely 40,000 angels are at his grave, crying, until the Day of Resurrection.”

Section Five

َ َ ‫ﻓَﻠَﻌَﻦ‬ ُّ ‫ﺎس‬ ‫َﻴ ْ ِﺖ‬Rْ‫ اﻟﻈﻠ ْ ِﻢ َ واﻟـ ْ َﺠ ْﻮ ِر َﻠَﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ أ َ ْﻫ َﻞ اﻟ‬ َ ‫ ا أُ َّﻣﺔً أ َّﺳ َﺴ ْﺖ أ َﺳ‬ ُ َ May the curse (LaÝn) be upon those people who laid down the foundations for the oppression and wrongs done upon you, the family of the Prophet [Ahlul Bayt]. The word “LaÝn” which is usually translated as ‘curse’ is one of those Arabic words which does not have a direct translation in the English language. Its true meaning is “to be removed and distanced from the mercy of All{h,” and it does not mean ‘curse’ like using a curse word (as we use in English). Thus, the ‘LaÝn’ which we make means that we are asking All{h i to remove His mercy in this world from the people who brought the event of Karbal{Þ into being (and who perpetuate their claims even today) and also for Him not to show mercy upon them on the Day of Judgement. In this section, we ask All{h i to remove his mercy and blessings from those people – that part of the nation of Isl{m – who laid down the foundations of tyranny and this is in direct reference to those who took part in Saq|fah of Ban| S{Þidah – who stole the caliphate from its rightful inheritor, Im{m ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib . The ‘LaÝn’ is not something alien to Isl{m or limited to the ShiÝ{ sect, rather, even the Qur’{n clearly tells us that this is something permissible for all Muslims and is an act which the angels and All{h i Himself also perform upon certain individuals! In S}ratul Aƒz{b (33), verse 57 we read:

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

َ ّٰ َ ُ ْ ُ َ ُ ّٰ ُ َ َ َ ُ َ ‫ـﻪ َو َر ُﺳ‬ َ ْ ُّ َ ‫اﻵﺧ‬ ‫ـﺮ ِة‬ ‫ﻳﻦ ﻳﺆذون اﻟﻠ‬o‫ا‬ ِ ‫ إِن‬ ِ ‫ﻏﻴﺎ َو‬r‫ﻮ! ﻟﻌﻨﻬ ُﻢ اﻟﻠـﻪ ِﻲﻓ ا‬ َ َ َ ً ‫َوأ َﻋﺪ ﻟـ ُﻬ ْﻢ َﻋﺬاﺑًﺎ ُﻣ ِﻬﻴﻨﺎ‬ “Surely those people who hurt All{h and His Prophet (Muƒammad), the curse of All{h will be upon them in this life and in the next...” Without doubt, we can not “hurt” All{h i – however we can do things against His religion and His chosen servants which He does not accept and which “anger” Him. Without doubt, the killing of the one whom He had chosen to lead the community is one such reason for His curse to descend. In addition, without doubt, the killing of the son of the Prophet (Im{m Íusayn ) is an act which also hurt the Prophet intensely. Thus, he has a right to curse such individuals and us being his followers, acting according to his Sunnah have every right to also curse such people! As historians assert, had the caliphate not been stolen from the Commander of the Faithful in the event of Saq|fah, the foundations for oppression and wrongs done upon all of the members of the Ahlul Bayt would never have been laid. Thus, we ask All{h to remove His mercy from those who initiated the plots which led to this great tragedy.

Section Six

‫ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ ا ُأ َّﻣﺔً دَﻓَﻌَﺘْ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﻋَ ْﻦ َ ﻣﻘَﺎ ِﻣ ُﻜ ْﻢ َ وأَزَاﻟَﺘْ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﻋَ ْﻦ َﻣ َﺮاﺗِﺒِ ُﻜ ُﻢ اﻟ َّ ِﱵ‬ ُ ‫َو َ َ َﻦ‬

َ ‫ ا ﻓِﻴﻬَﺎ‬ ُ ‫َر ّﺗﺒ َ ُﻜ ُﻢ‬

May All{h curse those people who denied you your position (O’ Ahlul Bayt) and removed you from your rank which All{h Himself had granted to you.

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance The ShiÝ{ have a firm belief in the Im{mate of the chosen members of the family of the Prophet as they form the completion of the faith of Isl{m and ‘perfect’ the message of the Prophet by protecting it until the end of time. In the opinion of the ShiÝ{, the role of the Im{m is two-fold: 1. Isl{mic Religious Leadership: All Muslims agree that in the 23 year span of the Prophet of Isl{m , even though the entire Qur’{n was revealed, however not all of the Isl{mic laws were implemented and explained to the community in detail. It is for this reason that some Muslims believe that if there is no ruling in the Qur’{n or Sunnah that they can apply qiy{s (analogy) to the laws – in essence, making up their own rulings. However the ShiÝ{ believe that since there are 12 Im{ms who are the successors appointed by All{h i after the Prophet , that they had the responsibility to explain and elucidate upon the rulings of the Prophet and to further develop these – based on their infallibility and Divinely granted knowledge. Thus, there is no room in the ShiÝ{ teachings for making up rulings based on one’s own ‘opinion’. 2. Political Leadership of the Ummah: The majority of Muslims believe that after the Prophet , we are free to choose our own political leader and even if an unjust or a tyrannical ruler is placed as the head by the “majority”, then he must be followed without question! However, the ShiÝ{ believe that All{h i would never leave the community without a political leader and thus, the Prophet definitely appointed and made known his successors. In our present day and age, it is interesting that when Yasir Arafat was on his death bed, his followers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip were talking about his successor to carry the cause of the Palestinians forward! Just imagine, these people have the foresight to ensure a successor is groomed and appointed for the role of guiding a few million people from Palestine, however our Prophet 20

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance would leave this world without doing the same for the entire Muslim nation of close to 2,000,000,000,000 people! The ‘curse’ in this section of the ziy{rat is directed towards those people who denied a group of people their God given right to rule and lead; and who ultimately ended up denying the words of All{h i and the Prophet by electing their own leaders! From this line we also understand that Isl{m is not only “prayers and fasting” – rather, it is a complete system which includes the Religious leadership of the community along with all of its aspects: social, political, economic, artistic and all other dimensions. Thus, we reject any form of “Isl{m” if it does not conform to the Isl{m of the Messenger of All{h , ÝAl|, Íasan and Íusayn and the rest of the infallibles .

Section Seven and Eight

ُ ‫وﻟَﻌَ َﻦ‬ ‫ﻟﻌ‬ ِ ‫ ا اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ َﻤ ِّﻬ ِﺪﻳ َﻦ ﻟ َ ُـﻬ ْﻢ ﺑِﺎﻟﺘَّ ْﻤ ِﻜ‬ ‫ﲔ ِﻣ ْﻦ‬ َ ُ ‫ َ و َ َ َﻦ‬،‫ ا أ َّﻣﺔً ﻗَﺘَﻠَﺘْ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ُ ،‫ﻗِﺘ َﺎﻟ ِ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ May the curse of All{h be upon those people who killed you and may the curse of All{h be upon those people who made it easy for them by preparing the grounds for your killing. The meaning of “...those people who killed you...” is a direct reference to Yaz|d, Shimr and the other criminals who directly carried out the war against the successor of the Prophet and it may also be in reference to those people who killed the first eleven Im{ms . As for “...those people who made it easy for them…”, we alluded to this in our previous discussion and once again reiterate that these people are none other than those who laid the 21

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance foundation of Karbal{Þ when they battled for power in the Saq|fah of Ban| S{Ýida.

ِ ِ‫ ا وإِﻟَﻴ ُﻜﻢ ِﻣﻨْﻬﻢ وأ َ ْﺷﻴﺎ ِﻋ ِﻬﻢ وأَﺗْﺒﺎ ِﻋ ِﻬﻢ وأَوﻟ‬ ِ ‫ﻴﺎﺋ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬ ْ َ ْ َ ْ َ ْ ُ ْ ْ َ ّ ‫ﺑَ ِﺮﺋْ ُﺖ إ َِﱃ‬ I turn to All{h and towards you and I turn away from them and their adherents, their followers and their friends. Not only do we curse and ask All{h i to remove His mercy from these people, but once we have carried out this Isl{mic injunction, then we attest that we hold firmly to All{h i and the Ahlul Bayt and distance ourselves from not only the killers of the Im{m , but also those who adhere to their ideology and accept them as their leaders, those who follow them (both in succession and also in the spiritual essence of the word) and those who are classified as their friends. Is this nothing other than “tabarr{” which is one of our ‘Branches of Religion’ – the Fur}Ý ad-Din? This belief of “tawall{” and “tab{rr{h” can be best summarized in the famous hadith from Im{m Muƒammad b. ÝAl| al-Baqir in which, when he was asked about the definition of ‘religion’ he said, “...is religion anything other than love and hate?”

Section Nine

ِ ِ ِ ِ ‫ﻳَﺎ أَﺑَﺎ ﻋَﺒ ِﺪ‬ ٰ ‫ﺎرﺑَ ُﻜ ْﻢ إِﱃ‬ َ ‫ إ ِِّﱐ ﺳﻠ ْ ٌﻢ ﻟـ َﻤ ْﻦ ﺳﺎﻟـ َ َﻤ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬، ‫ا‬ ْ َ ‫ و َﺣ ْﺮ ٌب ﻟـ َﻤ ْﻦ َ ﺣ‬، ،‫ﻳ َ ْﻮ ِم اﻟْﻘِﻴ َ َﺎﻣ ِﺔ‬ O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h! I am at peace with those who make peace with you and I am at war with those who make war with you, until the Day of Judgement. This line of the ziy{rat acts as a continuous and ever-lasting pledge that we make to our Im{m that no matter what time and day we live in, those who are at peace and submit to his wilayat 22

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance (mastership) will be considered as our friends. However, if they are against any of the Im{ms, then we too will stand against them! Thus, we are not limiting our enmity and hatred only to those who killed the Im{m in the year 61 AH – rather, this animosity and distancing from his enemies continues even until today in the 20th century! This line is very close to what we read in Íad|th al-Kis{ in which the Prophet himself said, “O’ All{h! Surely these (ÝAl|, F{„imah, Íasan and Íusayn) are my family members and those select individuals and my helpers. Their flesh is my flesh, and their blood is my blood. That which hurts me, also hurts them and that which brings grief to me, also brings grief to them. I am at war with those who are at war with them, and I am at peace with those who are at peace with them and I am an enemy to their enemies and I am a lover of those who love them. Surely they are from me and I am from them.” This line in the ziy{rat should also act as a wakeup call for us that in all times, we need to keep ourselves politically aware of what is going on so that we are sure to always be supporting the oppressed and standing against the oppressors. If this is not the case, then we have surely made a mockery of this ziy{rat and of the sacrifice of our Im{m .

Section Ten

‫آل َﻣ ْﺮ َو َ ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ ا ﺑَ ِﲏ أُ َﻣﻴ َّ َﺔ ﻗَﺎ ِﻃﺒ َ ًﺔ‬ َ ‫ آل ِزﻳ َﺎ ٍد َ و‬ َ ‫ ا‬ ُ ‫ َ و َ َ َﻦ‬،‫ان‬ ُ ‫َو َ َ َﻦ‬ May the curse of All{h be upon the family of Ziy{d and the family of Marw{n and may the curse of All{h be upon Ban| Umayyah. At this point in the ziy{rat, we now begin to relate some of the names of the criminals responsible for the massacre in Karbal{Þ by listing three specific families and tribes: the family of Ziy{d, the 23

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance family of Marw{n, and the corrupt tree of the Ban| Umayyah. The history of these three groups would take us pages to narrate, however we offer a few highlights of their infamous lives so that this ziy{rat is better understood. 1) Who was Ziy{d and why curse him and his family? His own lineage is not known since his mother was a known adulteress and he has thus been attributed to being the son of no less than seven different men – and it is for this reason that he is sometimes referred to as Ziy{d, the son of his father – without mentioning the name of his father! In the beginning, Ziy{d was a staunch follower of Im{m ÝAl| and was appointed to the region of Fars (Iran) as a governor. He was also loyal to Im{m Íusayn during the initial period of his Im{mate, however very shortly afterwards, MuÝ{wiyah managed to buy him out and use him for his own wicked games. He was appointed by MuÝ{wiyah as the governor of K}fah at which time he killed numerous ShiÝ{ and caused great problems for the followers of ÝAl| . 2) Marw{n was the son of Íakam b. Ab|l ÝÀs b. Umayyah and he was the uncle of ÝUthm{n b. al-Aff{n (the third caliph). He and his father were exiled by the Prophet and remained out of Medinah during the reign of the first two caliphs and it was ÝUthm{n who permitted them back (thus going against the Prophet)’ and he also granted Marw{n huge sums of money from the public treasury (since they were related). MuÝ{wiyah appointed Íakam as the governor of Medinah and after Íakam’s death, many individuals from his family took this position. To show how despised this family was, it has been narrated that any time a child was born in Medinah, the parents would take the child to the Prophet for him to make a DuÝ{ for him. When Marw{n was born, the Prophet made a DuÝ{ and said, “...he is the cursed son of a cursed father...” 3) The Ban| Umayyah need no introduction due to their known acts of tyranny and oppression against the Prophet and the first 24

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance six Im{ms. Insha-All{h, during this exposition, more light will be shed on the polluted tree of the Ban| Umayyah and the evils which they inflicted on the Muslim society.

Section Eleven

‫ٍ ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ َ وﻟَﻌَ َﻦ ﻋﻤ ﺑ‬،َ‫ ا اﺑْ َﻦ َﻣ ْﺮ َﺟﺎﻧَﺔ‬ ‫ﻟﻌ‬ ً ‫ ا ِﺷـ ْﻤﺮا‬ ُ ‫ َ و َ َ َﻦ‬،‫ ا ُ َ َﺮ ْ َﻦ َ ﺳﻌْﺪ‬ ُ ُ ‫َو َ َ َﻦ‬ May the curse of All{h be upon Ibn Marj{na, and may the curse of All{h be upon ÝUmar b. SaÝad, and may the curse of All{h be upon Shimr. Ibne Marj{na is one of the people discussed in the previous section since he is from the family of Ziy{d. His mother was also an adulteress named Marj{na, so if we wish to refer to him by his mother’s side, he would be known as Ibne Marj{na (the son of Marj{na), and if we wish to refer to him by his father’s side, who was also an unchaste person, he would be known as Ibne Ziy{d (the son of Ziy{d). Thus, (ÝUbaydull{h) b. Ziy{d is also known as ÝUbaydull{h Ibne Marj{na – one with an unclear lineage and family tree. What was Ibne Marj{na’s role in the event of Karbal{Þ? First, he was the governor of Basrah, but then he was sent to K}fah. He was directly responsible for the killing of Muslim b. ÝAq|l, and he was also guilty of massing the troops towards Karbal{Þ. ‘ÝUmar b. SaÝad b. Ab| Waqq{s is the second person cursed in this section. SaÝad b. Ab| Waqq{s was a prominent companion of the Noble Prophet, however like others, he let the material world and Satan get the best of him some time after the death of the Messenger of All{h. Rising up in opposition to the im{mate of ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib , he (ÝUmar b. SaÝad b. Ab| Waqq{s) refused to pledge his allegiance to the successor of the Prophet and after a lifetime of submission to Isl{m, ended up leaving this world in opposition to 25

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance All{h i. However his son, who was cursed by Prophet Muƒammad and Im{m ÝAl| did not even enjoy a temporary lofty rank and was actually disowned by his father! His role in the event of ÝÀshur{ was as commander-in-chief of the entire battalion on the plains of Karbal{Þ as he was given the “honour” of being the governor of Ray (a village on the outskirts of Tehran, Iran – it still exists today as a suburb of South Tehran); in exchange for the head of Im{m al-Íusayn . To show his perversity and Satanic ideas at the mere thought of killing the remaining grandson of the Prophet, we quote some lines of the poetry that he had composed: “Should I give up the government of Ray which is my ultimate goal and desire to attain? Or should I return to K}fah, guilty and culpable of the killing of al-Íusayn? In the killing of him (al-Íusayn) is the hell fire of which there is nothing to save me, However the government of Ray is that thing which brings pleasure to my eyes.” Shimr b. Dhil Jawshan, the third person cursed in this section was once a staunch follower of Im{m ÝAl| and even fought against MuÝ{wiyah in the battle of Siff|n, however he too succumbed to Satan and followed his low desires. His crimes included encouraging Ibne Ziy{d not to accept any sort of peace treaty with Im{m Íusayn, and to ensure that he was killed to prevent any more ‘rebellion’ in the nation. His sins are too numerous to recount here, however his greatest crime was severing the head off of the body of Im{m Íusayn .

Section Twelve

‫ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ِ ‫ ا أُ َّﻣﺔً أ َ ْﺳ َﺮ َﺟ ْﺖ َ وأَﻟـ ْ َﺠ َﻤ ْﺖ َ وﺗَﻨ َ َّﻘﺒ َ ْﺖ ﻟِﻘِﺘ َﺎﻟ‬ ُ ‫َو َ َ َﻦ‬ 26

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance And may the curse of All{h be upon the nation that carried out, saw and were silent at your killing. How many people make up this ‘nation’ mentioned in this section who saw, carried out and were silent at the massacre of Karbal{Þ? Some historians state that this number exceeded 80,000 people, however the most famous account which has come to us directly from the MaÞ‚}m|n is 30,000. The entire city of K}fah was mobilized for this act of terrorism and ÝUbaydull{h b. Ziy{d ensured that everything needed to finish this battle was brought to the war front. Those who participated in this event and even those who did not, but remained silent are all cursed – just like those who even today hear about this tragedy and other acts of oppression throughout the world are cursed even if they are not directly responsible for what happens, but do not fell or show any kind of remorse. There are three main reasons why the Im{m did not receive the support he should have gotten from the Muslims, and upon review we see that they are definitely not ‘valid excuses’: 1. The people’s own personal gain and profit: When Im{m Íusayn , while in the Íajj (just before his martyrdom) asked a person who had arrived from K}fah about what the people were talking about, this man said, “The hearts of the people are with you, however their swords are with Ban| Umayyah.” To this, the Im{m replied, “Surely the people are the servants of this transient world and the religion is something which they pay lip service to. They hold onto it when it serves their purpose, however when they are plagued with difficulties, then very few hold firm to it.” 2. Fear of the government in power: MuÝ{wiyah, Yaz|d and their followers were very effective in striking terror and fear into the hearts of the people. The propaganda of Yaz|d, Ibne Ziy{d and 27

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance others infused deep into the psyche of the people, such that they shook at even the thought of going against their ‘leaders’; let alone asking questions about their actions. 3. Ignorance of the truth: In every era, we see that those who are misled are the people who lack true knowledge and awareness of what is going on in the world, just like Im{m ÝAl| said, “Ignorance is the root of all evil.” Again, the propaganda machine of Yaz|d was so strong that people thought him and his forefathers to be the true Muslims and leaders, while the Commander of the Faithful and his family were considered to be out of the fold of Isl{m! One wonders if these same things can not be seen in all ages where the truth is pitted against falsehood.

Section Thirteen

َ َ َ ِ‫ ﻟَﻘَ ْﺪ ﻋ ُﻈﻢ ﻣﺼ ِﺎﰊ ﺑ‬،‫ﺑِﺄ َ ِﰊ أَﻧْﺖ وأ ُِّﻣﻲ‬ ‫ ا َ اﻟ َّ ِﺬي أَﻛ َْﺮ َم‬ ‫ ﻓَﺄ ْﺳﺄ ُل‬،‫ﻚ‬ َُ َ َ َ َ ِ ‫ وأَﻛ َْﺮ َﻣ ِﲏ ﺑِ َ َ ﻳ‬، ‫ك َﻣ َﻊ إ َِﻣﺎ ٍم َﻣﻨْ ُﺼﻮ ٍر ِﻣ ْﻦ‬ َ ‫َﻣﻘَ َﺎﻣ‬ َ ‫ﺐ ﺛَﺎ ِر‬ َ ‫ﻚ‬ َ َ ‫ أ ْن َ ْﺮ ُزﻗَﲏ َ ﻃﻠ‬،‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫َ ِ ِ ٍﺻ‬ j‫ ا َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ َ وآﻟ ِ ِﻪ‬ ُ 6ّ َ ‫أ ْﻫﻞ ﺑَﻴْﺖ ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤﺪ‬ May my father and mother be sacrificed for you. Surely my sorrow for you is great and I pray to All{h who has honoured your status and has also honoured me through you that He grant me the opportunity to seek your revenge with the victorious Im{m from the family of Muƒammad, peace be upon him and his family. This is perhaps one of the most moving, inspirational, and thought provoking lines of this ziy{rat. We first make a very honorific promise to the Im{m that had he been alive today, we would have been willing to sacrifice ourselves and even our parents in his way. Thus, our lives mean 28

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance nothing when compared to the Im{m . This is not only a plea made to an Im{m who is no longer with us, rather, since our 12th Im{m is still alive and among us, we are making this pledge to him as well, since he is the inheritor of Im{m Íusayn – but we must ask ourselves – are we truly ready and willing to sacrifice ourselves and our families for the living Im{m ? It is hard enough to sacrifice our money let alone our lives and our parents. The appeal made in this section of the ziy{rat is to be alongside the 12th Im{m in his army to avenge all of those who were guilty of this great crime – from the days in Saq|fah, up until the day of ÝÀshur{ in 61 AH and beyond that. As for the honoured status of the Im{m , in order to recount his lofty rank it would take us volumes of books, however it is enough to mention that he was the son of the Prophet (according to the QurÞ{n) and that the dirt from around his grave is a means of cure for illness as has been seen and recorded in many books. It is through his noble status that we today, the ShiÝ{, have any status or honour – as it is through following his mission that true Isl{m is separated and differentiated from the Isl{m practiced by the majority of others. We also make a supplication that we are able to assist the 12th Im{m in his mission to avenge the death of the representatives of All{h on the Earth. Yes it is true that over 1,350 years have passed since this massacre and that Mukhtar (one of the companions of the Im{m ) took “revenge” for the killings, however the true revenge which is to be done by the immediate family under the authority of All{h i still remains – as was discussed in the beginning of this commentary. In actuality, this line of the ziy{rat shows us that ÝÀshur{ is not ‘one day’ and Karbal{Þ is not ‘one land’ and that as long as oppression and tyranny remain, ÝÀshur{ and Karbal{Þ, remain and it is only with the advent of the 12th Im{m and his global revolution that this state of affairs will end. 29

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance Unfortunately, we only study the event of Karbal{Þ and ÝÀshur{ as a historical occurrence with no desire to tie it into current events to see how Karbal{Þ is alive today and how ÝÀshur{ is occurring every day and this is what this one line of the ziy{rat is seeking to instill within us - that we must use these lessons in every aspect of our lives. It also upholds the hope of the advent of a reformer of the world, our 12th Im{m , enlivened in our hearts as we seek to be alongside with him when the Divine retribution takes place.

Section Fourteen

ِ ْ ‫ك َ و ِﺟﻴﻬﺎ ً ﺑِﺎﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ‫ اﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم ِﰲ اﻟ ُّﺪﻧْﻴ َﺎ‬ َ ‫ اﺟﻌَﻠ ْ ِﲏ ِﻋﻨْ َﺪ‬ َّ ‫ﲔ َﻠَﻴ ِﻪ‬ ْ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ‬ ،‫َواﻵ ِﺧ َﺮ ِة‬ O’ All{h! Make me worthy of respect with You through Íusayn, peace be upon him, both in this transient world and also in the next life. The status which we have – either in this world or the next, is in accordance with our level of Taqw{ which can only be developed through a conscious awareness of All{h i. The best way to develop this Taqwa is obviously to have perfect role models to follow who can bring us closer to His presence – and who better than the Messenger of Isl{m and his Ahlul Bayt ? In this case, we refer to the character and persona of Im{m Íusayn and we use him as our guide and teacher to All{h i. In this part of the ziy{rat we address All{h i and say to Him that it is through Im{m Íusayn and our spiritual connection to him that we desire respect and honour in All{h’s i presence – both in this world and in the next! Truly if we were not followers of the Prophet of Isl{m and his Divinely appointed successors, then we would not be worthy of 30

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance having respect shown to us by All{h i, as these personalities are the ‘rope of All{h’ which He has stretched forth for His servants to hold on to.

Section Fifteen

ِ ‫ إ ِِّﱐ أَﺗَﻘَ َّﺮب إِﱃ‬، ‫ا‬ ِ ‫ﻳَﺎ أَﺑَﺎ ﻋَﺒ ِﺪ‬ ِِ ِ ‫ َ وإِﱃ ٰ أَ ِﻣ‬،‫ َ وإِﱃ ٰ َر ُﺳﻮﻟ ِ ِﻪ‬، ‫ا‬ ،‫ﲔ‬ ٰ ُ ْ َ ‫ﲑ اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ ْﺆﻣﻨ‬ ‫ﱪاءَ ِة ِﻣ َّـﻤـ ْﻦ‬ َ ِ‫ﻚ ﺑِـ ُﻤ َﻮاﻻ َﺗ‬ َ ْ ‫ َ وإِﻟَﻴ‬، ِ‫ َ وإِﱃ ٰ اﻟـ ْ َﺤ َﺴﻦ‬،َ‫َوإِﱃ ٰ ﻓَﺎ ِﻃ َﻤﺔ‬ َ َ ْ ‫ َ وﺑِﺎﻟ‬،‫ﻚ‬ َ َ ِ ِ ِ ‫ واﻟـ ْ َﺠﻮ ِر َﻠَﻴ ُﻜﻢ وأَﺑْ َﺮ ُأ إِﱃ‬،‫ﻚ‬ ‫ﺎس‬ َ ‫ا َ وإِﱃ ٰ َر ُﺳﻮﻟ ِﻪ ﻣـ َّﻤ ْﻦ أ َّﺳ َﺲ أ َﺳ‬ ٰ َ ْ ْ ْ َ َ َ ‫ﻗَﺎﺗَﻠ‬ ‫ ٰ أ َ ْﺷﻴ َﺎ ِﻋ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬6َ ‫ َﻠَﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ َ و‬2ِ ‫ﺮى ِﰲ ُ ﻇﻠ ْ ِﻤ ِﻪ َ و َﺟ ْﻮ ِر‬ َ ِ ‫ذ ٰﻟ‬ ٰ ‫ َ و َﺟ‬،‫ْﻴ َﺎﻧ َ ُﻪ‬s‫ﻚ َ و ﺑَﲎٰ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ ُ ﺑ‬ O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h! Surely I seek closeness to All{h and to His Messenger and to the Commander of the Faithful and to F{„imah and to Íasan and to you through love for you; and through distancing myself from those who laid the foundations and those who built upon and carried out oppression and cruelty upon you all and upon your followers. What does it mean to seek closeness to All{h i, His Messenger and the other noble personalities mentioned in this section? Without doubt, ‘closeness’ to these individuals can not be in the physical sense of the word – rather, it is a spiritual meaning. Therefore, being close to All{h i means to be at the highest pinnacles of faith and certainty such that a person has no doubts or misgivings of the path of life, al-Isl{m, which one has chosen to follow. Closeness to the Messenger of All{h , the Commander of the Faithful , F{„imah , Im{m Íasan , and Im{m Íusayn , is also achieved through following their mission and way of life and becoming ‘one’ with them on the spiritual realms. 31

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance According to this section of the ziy{rat, closeness to All{h i can only be achieved through “tawall{” and “tabarr{” – love and hate for those whom All{h i has commanded us to show these two opposing states towards. This is not only a concept seen in this ziy{rat, rather in many of the verses of the QurÞ{n, we are also told to have love and companionship for the believers and to be harsh and firm against the disbelievers. Thus in summary, we see that the only way to be close to All{h i and His Messenger and those whom we are ordered to follow and obey is through love for them – and true love entails a complete obedience to the one whom we love (as the Qur’{n also attests to). At the same time, love is not enough because ‘love can not conquer evil’ – thus we also need to distance ourselves and make known our aversion to those people who oppressed and mercilessly killed the family of the Prophet – we have already mentioned who these people are in our previous discussions and more shall be mentioned in this ziy{rat, God Willing.

Section Sixteen and Seventeen

ِ ‫ وأَﺗَﻘَ َّﺮب إِﱃ‬،‫ا وإِﻟَﻴ ُﻜﻢ ِﻣﻨْ ُﻬﻢ‬ ِ ‫ا ُﺛ َّﻢ إِﻟَﻴ ْ ُﻜ ْﻢ ﺑِـ ُﻤ َﻮاﻻ َﺗِ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ٰ ُ َ ْ ْ ْ َ ٰ ‫ﺑَ ِﺮﺋْ ُﺖ إِﱃ‬ ِ َ ِ ِ ْ ‫ وﺑِﺎﻟ‬،‫وﻣﻮاﻻ َ ِة وﻟِ ِﻴ ُﻜﻢ‬ ِ َّ‫ واﻟﻨ‬، ،‫ﲔ ﻟ َ ُﻜ ُﻢ اﻟـ ْ َﺤ ْﺮ َب‬ َ ‫ﱪاءَة ﻣ ْﻦ أ ْ َﺪاﺋ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ِ‫ﺎﺻﺒ‬ ََ َ ْ ّ َ َ َُ ‫ﱪاءَ ِة ِﻣ ْﻦ أ َ ْﺷﻴَﺎ ِﻋ ِﻬ ْﻢ َ وأَﺗْﺒَﺎ ِﻋ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬ َ َ ْ ‫َوﺑِﺎﻟ‬ I disassociate myself from them through All{h and through all of you and I seek nearness to All{h and then to you through love for you and your friends and disassociation with your enemies and from those who want to fight against you, and disassociation from their adherents and their followers.

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance The importance of disassociation from the enemies of All{h i is so great that we repeat our thoughts in this part. Just like in the last section we sought closeness to All{h i and those select personalities and distanced ourselves from His enemies, we once again repeat the same words since if there is even an atom’s weight of love in our hearts for the enemies of All{h, it is IMPOSSIBLE to love All{h i, His Messenger and the Ahlul Bayt .

ِ ِ ِ ،‫ َ و َو ِﱄٌّ ﻟِـ َﻤ ْﻦ َ واﻻ َ ُﻛ ْﻢ‬،‫ﺎرﺑَ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ ‫ َ و َﺣ ْﺮ ٌب ﻟـ َﻤ ْﻦ َ ﺣ‬،‫إ ِِّﱐ ﺳﻠ ْ ٌﻢ ﻟـ َﻤ ْﻦ َ ﺳﺎﻟـ َ َﻤ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ،‫َو َ ُﺪ ٌّو ﻟ ِـ َﻤ ْﻦ َﺎدَا ُﻛ ْﻢ‬ Surely I am at peace with those who are at peace with you and I am at war with those who are at war with you; and I am a friend to those who are friends with you and I am an enemy to those who are enemies with you. In actuality, this line of the ziy{rat is the natural outcome from the previous two sections – meaning that once we realize who we love and hate, then we realize whom we are at war with and whom we are at peace with. Is it possible for us to love the enemy of All{h i, the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt while showing hatred for their sincere followers?? Obviously, once we realize who our true leaders and guides are we will be loyal to them and ALSO to those who love and follow them. When we realize who the enemies of All{h i, the Prophet and his Ahlul Bayt are we will have an aversion to them and wioll be in a state of perpetual war with them.

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

Section Eighteen

َ َ ‫ َ و َرزَﻗَ ِﲏ‬،‫ َ و َﻣﻌْ ِﺮﻓَ ِﺔ أ َ ْوﻟِﻴ َﺂ ِﺋ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬،‫ا َ اﻟ َّ ِﺬي أَﻛ َْﺮ َﻣ ِﲏ ﺑِـ َﻤﻌْ ِﺮﻓَﺘِ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ‫ﻓَﺄ ْﺳﺄ ُل‬ ‫َﺒِّ َﺖ‬xُ‫ َ وأَ ْن ﻳ‬،‫ أَ ْن ﻳ َـ ْﺠﻌَﻠ َ ِﲏ َ ﻣﻌَ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِ ﰲ اﻟ ُّﺪﻧْﻴ َﺎ َ واﻵ ِﺧ َﺮ ِة‬،‫ﱪاءَةَ ِﻣ ْﻦ أَ ْ َﺪ ِاﺋ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ َ ْ ‫اﻟ‬ ،‫ِﱄ ِﻋﻨْ َﺪ ُﻛ ْﻢ ﻗَ َﺪ َم ِ ﺻ ْﺪقٍ ِ ﰲ اﻟ ُّﺪﻧْﻴ َﺎ َ واﻵ ِﺧ َﺮ ِة‬ So then I ask All{h who has honoured me with a cognizance of all of you and a cognizance of your friends that He also grant me the opportunity to disassociate myself from your enemies and that He place me with you – both in this transient world and also in the next life – and that he make me firm in your presence with a truthful stance - both in this transient world and also in the next life. When a person wants to follow another person or ideology, it is necessary for him to know that person or ideology from all of its various dimensions. Can a supporter of democracy for example, say with one hundred percent certainty that he accepts that form of government if he has not studied it? Obviously not! Thus, the friends of the Ahlul Bayt will become closer to these individuals through a deeper understanding and knowledge of these noble personalities and all aspects of their lives. As we know, this deep knowledge of the Ahlul Bayt which we require can only be granted to us by All{h i and it is for this reason that we always turn back to Him as our source of guidance. This is one of the key ingredients in the duÝ{ and ziy{r{t which the Prophet and Im{ms have taught us that every issue goes back to All{h i, thus placing tawƒ|d at the fore-front of all of our discussions. In this ziy{rat, what does it mean when we say, “...that He place me with you both in this transient world and also in the next 34

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance life...”? This ‘oneness’ has many levels and degrees to it, however in this section it refers to a “spiritual oneness” which is accomplished through following the morals and etiquette of the Ahlul Bayt, such that ‘being like them’ is then equated with ‘being with them’ – this is in regards to the life of this world. As for the next world, the QurÞ{n tells us in chapter 17, verse 71 that:

ُ َ َ َُ َُ ُ ُ ْ َ َ َْ َ ‫ﺎس ﺑﺈ َﻣﺎ ِﻣﻬ ْﻢ َﻓ َﻤ ْﻦ أ‬ ‫وﻲﺗ ِﻛﺘَﺎﺑَ ُﻪ ِﻧﻴَ ِﻤﻴ ِﻨ ِﻪ ﻓﺄ ْوﺤِﻚ‬ ‫ ﻳﻮم ﻧﺪﻋﻮ ﻞﻛ أﻧ‬ ٍ ِ ِِ ِ ً َ َ َُ ُْ َ َ ْ َُ َ َ ََُْ ‫ﻓﻘﺮءون ِﻛﺘﺎﻧﻬﻢ وﻻ ﻓﻈﻠﻤﻮن ﻓ ِﺘﻴﻼ‬

“The day We shall summon every group of people with their imam, then whoever is given his book in his right hand —they will read it, and they will not be wronged so much as a single date-thread.” Thus, we pray that on the Day of Judgement, we are raised up in the company of our Im{m however the only way this can be accomplished is to be with them in this world. The last line of this ziy{rat which reads, “...and that he make me firm in your presence with a truthful stance...” carries a very important meaning with it. In this line, we are being taught that it is not of any worth to be a “Íusayni” (one who follows the footsteps of Im{m Íusayn ) for the moment – meaning that to profess love at this moment of our lives is not some great honour. Rather, what is important is to also die as a “Íusayni” and to be brought up on the Day of Resurrection as a “Íusayni”. How many people lived around the Prophet and were his “companions” in this world – but will they be his companions in the next life? How many people pledged allegiance to ÝAl| on the day of Ghadeer and even after the death of the first three Caliphs, however where were they when he was fighting in the battles of Jamal, Siff|n, Nahrw{n and other wars? 35

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance Thus, in this section we make a prayer to All{h i that we are able to remain as a “Íusayni” throughout our entire life and even on the Day of Resurrection and that we never switch sides and become a “Yaz|di” (one who follows Yaz|d’s actions).

Section Nineteen

ِ َ َ َ ِ ‫ـﻤ ْﺤ ُﻤﻮدَ ﻟ َ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِﻋﻨْ َﺪ ِ َ ﻳ‬ ‫ﺐ‬ َ ْ ‫ﻘﺎم اﻟ‬ َ ‫َوأ ْﺳﺄﻟ ُ ُﻪ أ ْن ﻳُﺒَﻠ ّﻐ َ ِﲏ اﻟـ ْ َﻤ‬ َ َ ‫ َ وأ ْن َ ْﺮ ُزﻗَﲏ َ ﻃﻠ‬، ‫ ا‬ ،‫ﺪى َ ﻇﺎ ِﻫ ٍﺮ ﻧَﺎ ِﻃﻖٍ ﺑِﺎﻟـ ْ َﺤ ّ ِﻖ ِﻣﻨْ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ ً ‫ﺛَﺎ ِري َﻣ َﻊ إ َِﻣﺎ ِم ُ ﻫ‬ And I ask Him (All{h) that He enables me to reach the honoured station with you in the presence of All{h and that He grant me the ability to seek the revenge of you with the rightly guided Im{m from you, who will surely come and speak the truth. The honoured station (Maq{m Maƒm}d) is not one which everybody can reach to and it is for this reason that in S}ratul Isr{Þ (17), veres 79, we read:

َ ُّ َ َ َ َ ْ َ ْ َ َ َ َ َ ً َ َ ْ َ َ َ ْ َ َ ً ‫ﻚ َﻣ َﻘ‬ ‫ﺎﻣﺎ‬ ‫ أن ﻓﺒﻌﺜﻚ رﺑ‬n‫ و ِﻣﻦ اﻟﻠﻴ ِﻞ ﻓﺘﻬﺠﺪ ﺑِ ِﻪ ﻧﺎ ِﻓﻠﺔ ﻟﻚ ﻋ‬ ً َْ ‫ﺤﻣ ُﻤﻮدا‬

“...and in the night perform the recommended prayers (Salatul Lail). Perhaps it will be through this act that Your Lord may grant you an honoured station (Maq{m Maƒm}d).” Thus, the only way to soar to the peaks of closeness with All{h i is through the spiritual travels – one of them being closeness to the Ahlul Bayt in the true sense of the word. Although the tafseer of this verse has limited the true Maq{m Maƒm}d as belonging to Prophet Muƒammad and his power of intercession for all who All{h i permits him to intercede for, 36

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance however there are others who, according to numerous aƒ{d|th, will have the permission to intercede for others – the teacher will be able to intercede for his students; a shah|d (martyr) will be able to intercede for his family members and other categories which the aƒad|th speak about. However, the term Maq{m Maƒmo}d used in this section is of a ‘general’ nature of a lofty status and not that rank of the Prophet of Isl{m . The mention of the 12th Im{m is once again seen in this ziy{rat and once again we ask All{h i that we are given the opportunity to be with our Im{m in seeking revenge for the great act of murder against Im{m Íusayn on the plains of Karbal{Þ. Our living Im{m WILL come and take the revenge for his family who were wronged; and one of the supplications of every true believer should be that one is present and fighting WITH the Im{m, rather than AGAINST the Im{m.

Section Twenty

َ ‫ َ ِﲏ ﺑِـ ُﻤ َﺼ ِﺎﰊ‬J‫ أ َ ْن ﻳُﻌْ ِﻄ‬2ُ ‫ ا َ ﺑِـ َﺤ ّﻘِ ُﻜ ْﻢ َ وﺑِﺎﻟ َّﺸﺄْنِ اﻟ َّ ِﺬي ﻟ َ ُﻜ ْﻢ ِﻋﻨْ َﺪ‬ ‫َوأ َ ْﺳﺄ ُل‬ َ ِ ‫َﺘِ ِﻪ‬R‫ﺑِ ُﻜﻢ أَﻓْ َﻀ َﻞ َ ﻣﺎ ﻳُﻌْ ِﻄﻲ ﻣ َﺼﺎﺑﺎ ً ﺑِـﻤ ِﺼﻴ‬ ‫ﻬﺎ وأ َ ْﻋ َﻈ َﻢ‬ َ ‫ﺒَﺔً َ ﻣﺎ أ ْﻋ َﻈ َﻤ‬J‫ ﻣﺼ‬، ْ ُ ُ ُ ِ ِ ‫ﻟﺴﻤﻮ‬ ِ j‫ات َ واﻷ َ ْر ِض‬ َ ٰ َّ ‫َر ِزﻳَّﺘَﻬَﺎ ِ ﰲ ا ِﻹ ْﺳﻼ َم َ و ِﰲ َﲨﻴ ِﻊ ا‬ And I ask All{h for your sake and for the status and rank which you have with Him that He grant me that thing due to me showing grief and sorrow at your sorrows, even more than of that which he gives in a person’s own grief and sorrows, and what great sorrow and tragedies you faced! How great was your tragedy for Isl{m and for all of the inhabitants of the Heavens and the Earth!

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance What is being asked for in this section of the ziy{rat? The QurÞ{n clearly tells us that when an affliction befalls a person there are certain things which All{h i grants him as He notes in chapter 2, verse 155 to 157:

ْ ْ َْ َْ ْ ُ ََََُْ ْ َ ‫ﻜ ْﻢ ﺑ‬ ِ ُ ‫ ٍء ِﻣ ْﻦ اﺨﻟ َ ْﻮ ِف َواﺠﻟ‬n ‫ـﻮال‬ ‫ﻣ‬ ‫ﻮع َوﻏﻘ ٍﺺ ِﻣـﻦ اﻷ‬ ‫ وﺠﺒﻠﻮﻧ‬ ِ ِ َ ُ َ َ َْ َ َ َ ِّ َ َ ‫ﺮﺸ‬ َ ‫ﻧﻔـﺲ َواﺨﻛ‬ ْ َ َ ‫ـﺎﻧﺘ ُﻬ ْﻢ‬ ‫ﻳـﻦ إِذا أﺻ‬o‫ا‬ . ‫ﻳﻦ‬ ‫ﺮ‬ ‫ـﺎﺑ‬ ‫اﻟﺼ‬ ‫ﺑ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ات‬ ‫ﺮ‬ ‫ﻤ‬ ِ ِ ِ ‫واﻷ‬ ِِ ُ ُ َ ٌَ ُ َ َ ٰ َ َ َْ َ ‫ أ ْوﺤِـﻚ َﻋﻠـﻴْ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬. ‫اﺟ ُﻌـﻮن‬ ِ ‫ﻣ ِﺼﻴﺒﺔ ﻗﺎﻟﻮا إِﻧﺎ ﻟِﻠــ ِﻪ و[ِﻧـﺎ إِ ـ ِﻪ ر‬ َ ْ ْ ُ َ ٰ ُ ٌ َ ْ َ َ ْ ِّ َ ْ ٌ َ َ َ ‫ﻤﺣﺔ َوأ ْوﺤِﻚ ﻫ ْﻢ اﻟ ُﻤﻬﺘَ ُﺪون‬ ‫ﺻﻠﻮات ِﻣﻦ رﺑ ِﻬﻢ ور‬

“And surely We will test you with something from fear and hunger, and a loss in your wealth, lives and your children – then give good tidings to those who show patience that when a tribulation befalls them they say, ‘Surely we are all from All{h and back to Him is our return.’ Surely it is upon these people that the prayers of their Lord are showered alongwith His Mercy and surely it is these people who are on the right path.” Thus, in this section of the ziy{rat we are asking All{h i to grant us patience and to shower us with His Prayers and Mercy for us bearing the tribulations which befell Ab{ ÝAbdill{h and his family and friends. We also attest to the fact that whatever comes upon us in the form of tribulations and tests is nothing compared to what happened to the grandson of the Prophet, and that his tribulations were something which all of the inhabitants of the heavens and the Earth had a hard time bearing! According to one ƒad|th from the 5th Im{m, Muƒammad b. ÝAl| al-B{qir , everything in creation – the Jinn, wild animals, trees, even the sky cried at the murder of Im{m Íusayn ! This should come as no surprise to us as in verse 29 of S}ratul Dukh{n, 38

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance All{h tells us that at the death of a particular person, the sky and the Earth did not cry (since this person was not worthy of this) – thus, this means that at the death of others, it is possible for the Earth and sky to show ‘emotions’ and shed tears:

َ ُ ُ َ َ َ ُ ْ َ َ ُ َ ُ َْ َ ْ َ َ َ َ َ ‫ﻨﻈﺮ‬ ‫ﻳﻦ‬ ِ ‫ ﻓﻤﺎ ﺑﻜﺖ ﻋﻠﻴ ِﻬﻢ اﻟﺴﻤﺎء واﻷرض وﻣﺎ ﺎﻛﻧﻮا ﻣ‬

“So neither the sky wept for them, nor the earth; nor were they granted any respite.” Even today, scientists have shown how animals can develop a close bond to their owners and if the owner dies, that animal is able to sense this and feels grief, and their entire pattern of life changes due to the loss. Without doubt, the Divinely appointed representative of All{h i leaving this Earth in the fashion in which he did is something which would even make a hard rock split and have water gush out from it, however how tragic it is that some hearts hear about his tragedy but they do not break down in tears.

Section Twenty-One and Twenty-Two

،ٌ‫ﲪ ٌﺔ َ و َﻣﻐ ْ ِﻔ َﺮة‬ َ ْ‫ اﺟﻌَﻠ ْ ِﲏ ِ ﰲ َ ﻣﻘَﺎ ِﻣﻲ ٰ ﻫ َﺬا ﻣِـ َّﻤ ْﻦ ﺗَﻨ َﺎﻟ ُ ُﻪ ِﻣﻨ‬ ٌ َ ‫ﻚ َﺻﻠ‬ َ ْ ‫ﻮات َ و َر‬ ْ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ‬ O’ All{h! Make me at this moment, one who receives from You prayers, mercy and forgiveness. The meaning of “...make me at this moment...” is that point in time when a person is reciting this ziy{rat, since as mentioned before, one is able to attain closeness to All{h i and His chosen personalities through love and affinity for Prophet Muƒammad and his chosen family members. Therefore, as we seek nearness to All{h i through the Ahlul Bayt , we ask All{h i for His prayers, mercy and forgiveness for our sins and transgressions. 39

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

ٍ ِ ‫ﺎ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ و‬ ‫ﺎت ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ‬ ُ َ ‫ﺎي َ ﻣـ ْﺤﻴ‬ َ ‫ و َﻣـ َﻤ ِﺎﰐ َ ﻣـ َﻤ‬، ْ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ‬ َ َ ‫ اﺟﻌَ ْﻞ َ ﻣـ ْﺤﻴ‬ َ ‫آل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤﺪ‬ ِ ‫َو‬ j‫آل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ‬

O’ All{h! Make me live the life of Muƒammad and the family of Muƒammad; and permit me to die the death of Muƒammad and the family of Muƒammad. We know the way of life of Muƒammad and his family – was that they led a life of piety, humility and humbleness. They did not indulge in extravagance, nor were they miserly in their spending. Whatever they did was for All{h i and to seek nearness to Him. This is what we ask for in the first part of this section. We also know that they stood up for truth and justice and when the time came to give up their life for the protection of the faith of Isl{m, they did as they were required. The positive traits and noble ethical qualities which the Prophet and his family possess are too numerous to mention here, however we ask All{h i to bless our life and permit us to live the same kind of life that they had lived. As for the second portion in which we ask that we ‘...die the death of Muƒammad and the family of Muƒammad...’ this is a far more important aspect. In essence, we are asking All{h i for a noble and glorious death – a death that the family of the Prophet welcomed in which they were killed defending the cause of All{h i and His faith since generally speaking, the way one lives is the way one dies. It is not possible for a person to live his life as a ‘Íusayni’ but die as a ‘Yaz|di’ – as long as the ‘Íusayni’ traits are deeply engrained in his psyche and essence, one will never leave this path. Similarly, it is not possible for a person to live his entire life as a ‘Yaz|di’ but die as a ‘Íusayni’, as one’s heart would be so polluted with sins and evil, that it would be very hard, if not impossible to 40

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance return back to the straight path. Granted there are those who have led less than pious lives and have died on the path of Isl{m, however for them we can state that they had not arrived to a state in which their entire presence had been covered over with sins – people such as al-Íurr b. Yaz|d al-Riy{h|. Thus, in this part of the ziy{rat we are asking for the death of a shah|d (a martyr) – as this is the noblest way of leaving this world, especially keeping in mind that we could die in many ways such as crossing the street, riding a bike or something else of this nature.

Section Twenty-Three

ِ ِ ‫ِ ﺑﻨ ُ ﺑ‬ َِ ِ ‫ﲔ اﺑْ ُﻦ‬ َّ َ َ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ إ َِّن ﻫٰ َﺬا ﻳ َ ْﻮ ٌم ﺗ‬ ُ ‫ اﻟﻠ ّﻌ‬،‫ﱪ َﻛ ْﺖ ﺑِﻪ َ ُﻮ أ َﻣﻴ َّ َﺔ َ وا ْ ُﻦ آ ﻠَﺔ اﻷ َ ْﻛﺒ َﺎد‬ ِ ِ‫اﻟﻠَّﻌ‬ ‫ﻚ ِ ﰲ ُ ّ ِﻞ َﻣ ْﻮ ِﻃﻦٍ َو َﻣ ْﻮﻗِ ٍﻒ َ وﻗَ َﻒ ﻓِﻴ ِﻪ‬ َ ّ‫ ِِﻴ‬Rَ‫ﻚ َ وﻟ ِ َﺴﺎنِ ﻧ‬ َ ِ‫ٰ ﻟ ِ َﺴﺎﻧ‬6َ ‫ﲔ‬ j‫ﻚ‬ َ ُّ ‫ِﻴ‬Rَ‫ﻧ‬ O’ All{h! This is the day (the day of ÝÀshur{) which the Ban| Umayyah rejoiced upon (and is the day when the) son of the liver eater (meaning the son of Hind b. Ab} Sufy{n – MuÝ{wiyah and his son Yaz|d) celebrated, the cursed son(s) (Yaz|d) of the cursed (MuÝ{wiyah), as said by You and Your Prophet at every place and occasion. In this section of the ziy{rat, we once again turn our attention to those specific individuals who are cursed by All{h i, His Prophet and all of those who are given the permission to curse by All{h. We are told that the Ban| Umayyah rejoiced on this day – the day of ÝÀshur{ – however what exactly did they do on this day? The books of history tell us that the following things were innovated into the faith during the time of Yaz|d and the rest of the corrupt leaders: 41

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance 1. They considered this day as the one on which the sustenance is determined by All{h i and the day when All{h i divides His blessings upon His servants for the next year. It is for this reason that the Ahlul Bayt advised their followers to refrain from work, school, etc... on this day. 2. They considered this day as a day of ÝEid, and thus encouraged their followers to clean their house; apply perfume; wear clean, new clothing and all of the other acts related to Eid. Again, the Ahlul Bayt told us to mark this day in a solemn manner with grief and sorrow and wear ‘modest’ and ‘simple’ dress. 3. The Ban| Umayyah used to fast on this day, and even now, many followers of the Ban| Umayyah (those who make up a majority of the Muslims of the world) fast on the day of ÝÀshur{ claiming that the Prophet did so in respect of Prophet Musa ! Again, the ShiÝ{ are told that to fast on this day is highly discouraged, however we are recommended to keep a half-day fast (F{qah) as a sign of grief and remembrance of the hunger and thirst felt on the day of ÝÀshur{; but then to partake in simple food at the time of ÝA‚r. 4. The fourth thing innovated in the faith was to make special DuÝ{ for the greatness of the day and to ask for barakat (blessings) from All{h i. Again, the followers of the Ahlul Bayt have been taught to make duÝ{ and the ziy{rat in which we recall the grief of the family and to ask All{h i for benefits – but not of the material and worldly type. In a long tradition from Im{m al-Ri~{ he has cleared this lie (that the day of ÝÀshur{ is a day of celebration) and has said (at the end of the ƒad|th), “...a person who takes the day of ÝÀshur{ as a happy one will be raised up on the Day of Judgement with Yaz|d and ÝUbaydull{h b. Ziyad and ÝUmar b. SaÝad in the lowest dungeon of the Hell Fire.” 42

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

Section Twenty-Four

َ ‫َ ﻟﻌ‬ ‫ﻚ اﻟﻠَّﻌْﻨ َ ُﺔ‬ َ ْ‫ﻳﺪ ﺑْ َﻦ ُ ﻣﻌَﺎ ِوﻳَﺔَ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻬ ْﻢ ِﻣﻨ‬ َ ‫ﺎن َ و ُﻣﻌَﺎ ِوﻳَﺔَ َ وﻳ َ ِﺰ‬ َ َ ‫ﺎ ﺳ ْﻔﻴ‬ ُ َ‫أﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ ا ْ َ ْﻦ أﺑ‬

َ ِ ‫ان ﺑِﻘَﺘْﻠِ ِﻬ ُﻢ‬ ُ ‫ آل ِزﻳ َﺎ ٍد َ و‬ ُ ‫ َ وﻫٰ َﺬا ﻳ َ ْﻮ ٌم ﻓَ ِﺮ َﺣ ْﺖ ﺑِﻪ‬،‫أﺑَ َﺪ اﻷ َﺑِ ِﺪﻳ َﻦ‬ َ ‫آل َﻣ ْﺮ َو‬

ِ ‫ﻮات‬ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ْ‫ أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ ﻓَ َﻀﺎ ِﻋ ْﻒ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻬ ُﻢ اﻟﻠَّﻌْ َﻦ ِﻣﻨ‬j‫ ا َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ‬ ُ َ ‫ﲔ َﺻﻠ‬ َ ْ ‫اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ِ j‫ﻴﻢ‬ َ َ‫َواﻟْﻌ‬ َ ‫ﺬاب اﻷ َﻟ‬

O’ All{h! Curse Ab} Sufy{n and MuÝ{wiyah and Yaz|d b. MuÝ{wiyah – upon them may Your curse be forever and eternity. And this is the day when the family of Ziy{d were happy and so were the family of Marw{n at their killing of Íusayn, may the prayers of All{h be upon him. O’ All{h! Increase upon them (the enemies) Your curse and (Your) painful punishment. Once again we see the curse being sent upon specific individuals and we ask All{h i to remove His mercy from these people due to their wicked acts. Ab} Sufy{n remained a polytheist until his death, and thus died in opposition to All{h i and His Messenger . The same can be seen for his off-spring – his son and grandson, MuÝ{wiyah and Yaz|d - who although ‘openly’ accepted Isl{m, were the greatest opponents to All{h i and His Messenger ! It was not until the reign of the third caliph that MuÝ{wiyah finally began to take a prominent role in the government – after all, he was from the same family as ÝUthm{n. However, this did not stop him from having ÝUthm{n killed and then pinning the blame on the Commander of the Faithful ÝAl| so that the people would rise up against the Im{m ! MuÝ{wiyah continued his evil plots during the caliphate of Im{m ÝAl| and his son, Im{m Íasan al-Mujtab{ . After he 43

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance was sent to the hell fire, his son Yaz|d was appointed as the caliph of the Muslim nation! They were the ones to bring the monarchy to Isl{m – something seen in many Muslim countries even today! Whereas it would take books to describe MuÝ{wiyah’s deviations, we mention just a few here so that we can better under why we curse him: 1.

He was the first one to perform Sal{tul JumuÝah on Wednesday;

2. He permitted a person to marry two sisters at one time (which is forbidden in Isl{m); 3.

He introduced the Adh{n on the day of ÝEid al-A~h{ and ÝEid al-Fi„r;

4. He recited his Sal{t in full while on a journey; 5.

He made use of pure silk and gold which is forbidden for men;

He did not implement the Isl{mic penal code;

He drank alcohol in the open;

He established the monarchy in Isl{m;

He cursed the family of the Prophet – especially Im{m ÝAl| in the open and made it a part of the JumuÝah khutbah without which the JumuÝah was invalid;

10. He prohibited people from narrating aƒ{d|th of the Prophet, and hundreds of other things. The actions of Yaz|d were no less – including the act of killing the grandson of the Prophet, attacking the Holy KaÝbah and destroying it and hundreds of other acts during his three years and six months of “leadership” of the Muslim nation.

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

Section Twenty-Five and Twenty-Six

‫ َ وأَﻳَّﺎ ِم َ ﺣﻴ َ ِﺎﰐ‬،‫ َ و ِﰲ َﻣ ْﻮﻗِ ِﻔﻲ ﻫٰ َﺬا‬،‫ﻚ ِ ﰲ ﻫٰ َﺬا اﻟْﻴ َ ْﻮ ِم‬ َ ْ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ إ ِِّﱐ أَﺗَﻘَ َّﺮ ُب إِﻟَﻴ‬

ِ ‫ﻚ َ و‬ ‫ﻚ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ‬ َ ّ ‫ ِِﻴ‬Rَ‫آل ﻧ‬ َ ّ ‫ ِِﻴ‬Rَ‫ َ وﺑِﺎﻟـ ْ ُﻤ َﻮاﻻ َ ِة ﻟِﻨ‬،‫ َ واﻟﻠَّﻌْﻨ َ ِﺔ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬،‫ﱪاءَ ِة ِﻣﻨْ ُﻬ ْﻢ‬ َ َ ْ ‫ﺑِﺎﻟ‬ j‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم‬ َّ ‫َو َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻬ ُﻢ ا‬

O’ All{h! Surely I seek nearness to you on this day (the day of ÝÀshur{) and in this place (which I am in) and in all of the days of my life by disassociating myself from these people and sending curses upon them, and through my love and friendship to Your Prophet and the family of Your Prophet, peace be upon him and upon all of them. Once again, we return to the over-riding theme in all of our supplications and ziy{r{t which is the monotheism of All{h i and seeking nearness to Him through individuals whom He has appointed as our guides. This line of the ziy{rat shows that the closeness which we ask All{h i for is not limited to a particular day or place that we are in – rather, it is for all time and for anywhere in which we remember the Im{m and his sacrifice. In actuality, this line of the ziy{rat is a summary of the entire visitation – love and hate – which we have covered in previous sections of this exposition.

ِ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ اﻟْﻌَ ْﻦ أ َ َّو َل َ ﻇﺎﻟ ِ ٍﻢ َ ﻇﻠ َ َﻢ َﺣ َّﻖ ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ و‬ ٰ 6َ ‫آل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ وآ ِﺧ َﺮ ﺗَﺎﺑِ ٍﻊ ﻟ َ ُﻪ‬ ِ َ ‫ أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َﻢ اﻟْﻌَﻦِ اﻟْﻌِ َﺼﺎﺑَﺔَ اﻟ َّ ِﱵ َ ﺟ‬j‫ﻚ‬ ‫ﲔ َ و َﺷﺎﻳَﻌَ ْﺖ َ وﺑَﺎﻳَﻌَ ْﺖ‬ َ ِ ‫ذ ٰﻟ‬ َ ْ ‫ﺎﻫ َﺪت اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ّ jً ‫ أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ اﻟْﻌَﻨْ ُﻬ ْﻢ َ ﲨِﻴﻌﺎ‬،‫ ٰ ﻗَﺘْﻠِ ِﻪ‬6َ ‫َوﺗَﺎﺑَﻌَ ْﺖ‬

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance O’ All{h! Curse the first tyrant who oppressed the right of Muƒammad, and the family of Muƒammad and the next person who followed him on this path. O’ All{h! Curse the group who fought against Íusayn and those who followed them and supported them and assisted them in killing him. O’ All{h, curse all of them! The meaning of “...the first oppressor...” is not necessarily the first person who oppressed the family, just as the meaning of “...the next person...” does not necessarily mean the second one who followed. Rather, it means those individuals who initiated the oppression against the Prophet and his family and those who continued and perpetuated this act – even up until today (those who are happy and content and supportive of what was carried out). Can someone actually “...oppress the rights of Muƒammad and the family of Muƒammad?” Without doubt, this does not refer to the status of prophethood and im{mate as these are given by All{h i and no one can take them away. Thus, what this means is that we are sending curses upon those who prevented the Prophet and his family from enacting the status which they were given and from leading the community based on their im{mate. Thus, ‘oppressing the rights...’ means preventing the Im{m from fulfilling his im{mate over the nation and ensuring that all of the Isl{mic commandments are put into practice which was obviously not done during the ruling ‘caliphs’. We have been recommended to recite this section 100 times in order for our ziy{rat to be ‘complete,’ however, what is the reason for this? One possible reason for the recitation is to instill a sense of hatred and enmity for the killers of the grandson of the Prophet. It is possible that out of these 100 times, our attention may slip away a few times, thus rendering these curses as not coming from the bottom of our heart, however without doubt, if 46

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance we repeat it 100 times, we guaranteed that at least one of these 100 will be done sincerely and with true faith in what we are saying.

Section Twenty-Seven

ِ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ أَﺑَﺎ ﻋَﺒ ِﺪ‬ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ْ ‫ َﻠَﻴ‬،‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫ ٰ اﻷ َ ْر َوا ِح اﻟ َّ ِﱵ َ ﺣﻠ َّ ْﺖ ﺑِ ِﻔﻨَﺂ ِﺋ‬6َ ‫ا َ و‬ َ ْ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َّ َ ‫أ‬ ْ ِ‫ ا أَﺑﺪا ً ﻣﺎ ﺑﻘِ ﺑﻘ‬ ِ ِ ‫ ا آ ِﺧ َﺮ‬ ُ َ َ َ ‫ﻣ ِ ّﲏ َ ﺳﻼ َ ُم‬ َ ‫ﻴﺖ َ و َ َﻲ اﻟﻠَّﻴ ْ ُﻞ َ واﻟﻨَّﻬَ ُﺎر‬ ُ ‫ وﻻ َ َ ﺟﻌَﻠ َ ُﻪ‬، ِ ِ ِ ِ ْ ‫ ٰ َﻠِ ِّﻲ ﺑْﻦِ اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬6َ ‫ َ و‬،‫ﲔ‬ ِ ْ ‫ ٰ اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬6َ ‫ﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم‬ ،‫ﲔ‬ َّ َ ‫ أ‬،‫ﺎرﺗِ ُﻜ ْﻢ‬ َ َ ‫اﻟْﻌَﻬْﺪ ﻣ ِ ّﲏ ﻟ ِﺰﻳ‬ ِ ‫ ٰ أ َ ْﺻ َﺤ‬6َ ‫ َ و‬،‫ﲔ‬ ِ ْ ‫ﺎب اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ِ ْ ‫ ٰ أ َ ْوﻻ َ ِد اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬6َ ‫َو‬ j‫ﲔ‬ Peace be upon you O’ Ab{ ÝAbdill{h and upon the souls which were annihilated with you. Upon you, from me, is the peace of All{h for eternity, as long as the night and the day remain; and please do not make this (Ziy{rat) my last contact with you. Greetings be upon Íusayn; and upon ÝAl| the son of Íusayn; and upon the children of Íusayn; and upon the companions of Íusayn. This section which is also recited 100 times is one in which we express our love and greetings to the Im{m , his family and the companions who were killed with him. The first point of importance in this section is that these greetings which we convey to our Im{m are perpetual and do not end with the day of ÝÀshur{ – rather, they continue on until the end of this world. From this, we can understand that even if we are physically dead in our graves, the true ShiÝ{ will continue to send our greetings to the Im{m , even from our station in barzakh. Who is ÝAl| b. Íusayn whom we send our greetings to? Is this the fourth Im{m, as-Sajjad , or is it someone else? Seeing as how this ziy{rat is in regards to those who were murdered with the 47

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance third Im{m , we can state that this is none other than ÝAl| b. Íusayn whom we refer to as ÝAl| al-Akbar and who resembled the Noble Prophet in his looks and morals. As we know, the fourth Im{m was protected and saved on the day of ÝÀshur{ because through him, the remaining eight Im{ms had to come forth. Who are the children of Íusayn whom we send our greetings upon? Historians have mentioned that the Im{m had four sons: 1.

ÝAl| al-Akbar whose mother was Layla;

2. ÝAl| al-Awsat (Im{m Zaynul ÝÀbid|n), whose mother Shahr-Banu was the daughter of Yazdjard the Emperor of Iran; 3.

ÝAl| al-A‚ghar (ÝAbdull{h) whose mother was Rab{b;

4. JaÝfar b. Íusayn who died before the event of Karbal{Þ. As for his daughters, they include: 1.

Ruqayyah, whose mother was Rab{b (also known as Sakinah);

2. F{„imah, whose mother was Ummul Isƒ{q, the daughter of Óalƒah. The companions who were killed in Karbal{Þ are numerous and although the historians differ on the exact number, those from the Ban| Hashim numbered seventeen who include: 1.

ÝAl| al-Akbar (ÝAl| b. al-Íusayn);

2. ÝAbdull{h b. ÝAl|, the son of Ummul Ban|n; 3.

ÝAbb{s b. ÝAl|, the son of Ummul Ban|n;

4. JaÝfar b. ÝAl|, the son of Ummul Ban|n; 5. 48

ÝUthm{n b. ÝAl|, the son of Ummul Ban|n;

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance 6.

Muƒammad (A‚ghar) b. ÝAl|;

ÝAbdull{h b. Íusayn (ÝAl| al-A‚ghar the baby);

Ab} Bakr b. Íasan b. ÝAl|, the son of Im{m Íasan alMujtab{;

Q{sim b. Íasan b. ÝAl|, the son of Im{m Íasan alMujtab{;

10. ÝAbdull{h b. Íasan, the son of Im{m Íasan al-Mujtab{; 11. ÝAwn b. ÝAbdull{h b. JaÝfar al-Tayy{r b. Ab| Ó{lib; 12. Muƒammad b. ÝAbdull{h b. JaÝfar al-Tayy{r b. Ab| Ó{lib; 13. JaÝfar b. ÝAq|l b. Ab| Ó{lib; 14. ÝAbdul RaÎm{n b. ÝAqil b. Ab| Ó{lib; 15. ÝAbdull{h b. Muslim b. ÝAqil b. Ab| Ó{lib; 16. ÝAbdull{h b. ÝAqil b. Ab| Ó{lib; 17. Muƒammad b. SaÝ|d b. ÝAqil b. Ab| Ó{lib The resting place of all of the martyrs of the Ban| H{shim are at the feet of the body of Im{m Íusayn in Kerbal{. A separate grave was dug for them and they were buried at this spot – with the exception of al-ÝAbb{s b. ÝAl| whose burial place is the same location where he was martyred. The total number of the rest of the martyrs is also a point of difference among the scholars. The maximum number given is 112 however the number of 72 is one of the most accepted numbers as this is the minimum number of followers killed. The burial spots of the rest of the martyrs are also different and they are all buried around the grave of Im{m Íusayn in various locations, however the spots of most of their graves is not precisely known even today. Among all of these graves, only two are exactly known and these are the graves of Íab|b b. Maz{hir 49

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance Asad|, which is located inside the ƒ{ir (the area where Im{m Íusayn is buried) to the right of the body; and the other is that of Íurr b. Yaz|d al-Riy{ƒ|, who is buried a few kilometers from the grave of Im{m Íusayn .

Section Twenty-Eight

َّ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ ُﺧ‬ َ ‫ ُﺛ َّﻢ اﻟْﻌَﻦِ اﻟﺜّ َِﺎﱐ‬،ً‫ َ واﺑْ َﺪأْ ﺑِ ِﻪ أ َ َّوﻻ‬،‫ﺖ أ َ َّو َل ﻇﺎﻟ ِ ٍﻢ ﺑِﺎﻟﻠَّﻌْﻦِ ِﻣ ِ ّﲏ‬ َ ْ ‫ﺺ أَﻧ‬ ِ ِ َ ‫ أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َﻢ اﻟْﻌَ ْﻦ ﻳ َ ِﺰ‬j‫ﺚ واﻟ َّﺮاﺑِ َﻊ‬ ‫ا ◌ِﺑْ َﻦ ِزﻳﺎ ٍد‬ ٰ ّ ‫َﻴ ْ َﺪ‬Rُ ‫ واﻟْﻌَ ْﻦ‬،ً َ ‫ﻳﺪ َ ﺧﺎﻣﺴﺎ‬ َ َ ‫َواﻟﺜَّﺎﻟ‬ ّ َ َ ‫واﺑْﻦ َﻣ ْﺮﺟﺎﻧ َ َﺔ و ُﻋ َﻤ َﺮ ﺑْﻦ ﺳﻌ ٍﺪ و ِﺷـ ْﻤﺮا ً و‬ ‫آل‬ َ ‫آل ِزﻳ َﺎ ٍد َ و‬ َ ‫ﺎن َو‬ َ َ ‫آل أ ِﰊ ُ ﺳ ْﻔﻴ‬ َ َ َْ َ َ َ َ َ j‫ان إِﱃ ٰﻳ َ ْﻮ ِم اﻟْﻘِﻴ َ َﺎﻣ ِﺔ‬ َ ‫َﻣ ْﺮ َو‬ O’ All{h! Particularly curse the first tyrant, a curse from me, and begin the first curse with him, and then send the curse on the second, and the third, and then the fourth (tyrant). O’ All{h curse Yaz|d, the fifth (tyrant) and curse ÝUbaydull{h b. Ziy{d and Ibne Marj{nah, and ÝUmar b. SaÝad, and Shimr, and the family of Sufy{n, and the family of Ziy{d, and the family of Marw{n until the Day of Judgement. As we draw a close to this ziy{rat, we once again bring to memory those specific tyrants who began the movement against the family of the Prophet and ask All{h i to remove His mercy from them. The individuals mentioned here number eleven - who are these people and what did they do – we will explain this in detail so as to better understand why we curse all of them. One point should be mentioned that although some people were not present in the event of Karbal{Þ, however if they are ‘gathered’ in this group, then this is due to the fact that they were pleased with what occurred –

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance even though they may not have had a direct hand in the killing or that ey had laid the ground or initiated such an atrocity to occur. Also, it should be noted that ÝUbaydull{h b. Ziy{d and Ibne Marj{nah were ONE PERSON however he has been mentioned twice since his mother and father were both adulterers, and thus there is no clear record of whose son he was. This shows the despicability of the act of adultery that a child is sometimes left with no lineage and mentioning him twice would also remove the doubt from the people’s minds that ÝUbaydull{h b. Ziy{d may be another person who was not guilty of the crimes in Karbal{Þ. 1. The first tyrant – The First Caliph (Abu Bakr) who ruled for 2 years and 3 months; months; his actions include the following: a. Stealing the Caliphate from the Commander of the Faithful ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib . b. Ordering the Im{m to be tied, bound and dragged through the streets of Madinah in order to give the plege of allegiance to him. c. Ordering the daughter of the Prophet, F{„imah az-Zahr{ to be attacked and beat up – which caused her to have a miscarriage, and lose her son Mohsin and this incident eventually led to her death. d. Designating the second Caliph through his will. 2. The second tyrant – The Second Caliph (ÝUmar b. alal-Kha„„ab) who ruled for 10 years and 6 months; some of his actions include: a. Stealing the Caliphate from the Commander of the Faithful ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib . b. Planning the attacks against Im{m ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib and F{„imah az-Zahr{ after the death of the Prophet. c. Organizing the stealing of the Caliphate and placing the first Caliph in his seat at the Saqifah. 51

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance d. Many innovations in the faith of Isl{m such as: •

Prohibiting mutÝah of the woman and mutÝah of the Íajj;

•

Adding the line, ‘as-Sal{t is better than sleep’ [ ‫اﻟﺼﻼة ﺧﲑ ﻣﻦ‬ ‫ ]اﻟﻨﻮم‬to the adh{n of Fajr;

•

Bringing upon new rulings in regards to divorce, and many other acts.

e. Inappropriate distribution of the public treasury. f. Racial discrimination between Muslims. g. Making Mu{Ýwiyah the governor of present day Syria. h. Selectively implementing the Isl{mic penal code, and turning a blind eye to his friends and family members who committed acts contrary to Isl{mic legislation. i. Designating the third Caliph through his twisted and perverted “Council” to assign who would succeed him. 3. The third tyrant – The Third Caliph (ÝUthm{n b. alal-Aff{n) who ruled for approximately 12 years: a. Stealing the caliphate from the Commander of the Faithful ÝAl| b. Ab| Ó{lib . b. Many innovations in the faith of Isl{m. c. Putting forth his government without keeping the common people in mind for positions and assigning high posts to family and friends, regardlness of their lack of merits. d. Appointing people to government positions who were not worthy of such status. e. Limiting the public treasury to the Ban| Umayyah. 52

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance f. Racial discrimination among the Muslims. g. Physically attacking and assaulting people who were not happy with the situation of the government and their policies. h. Showing respect to the prime enemies of Isl{m and the teachings of the Prophet such as Marw{n b. Íakam, and MuÝ{wiyah b. Ab} Sufy{n. The acts of aggression of the rest of those cursed in this section are too numerous to mention, and thus we leave this for the readers to investigate and research.

Section Twenty-Nine

ِ ِ ‫ أ َﻟـ ْﺤﻤ ُﺪ‬j‫ ﻣ َﺼﺎﺑِ ِﻬﻢ‬6َ ‫ﻚ‬ ‫ِ ِﻳ‬ ٰ 6َ َ َ ‫أَﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ ﻟ‬ ْ َ ‫ﻚ اﻟـ ْ َﺤ ْﻤ ُﺪ‬ ْ َ ْ ُ ٰ َ َ ‫ ﲪ َﺪ اﻟ َّﺸﺎﻛﺮ َﻦ ﻟ‬ َ ِ ‫ﻋَ ِﻈ‬ ِ ْ ‫ ار ُزﻗْ ِﲏ َﺷ َﻔﺎﻋَﺔَ اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ‫ َو ﺛَﺒِّ ْﺖ ِ ﱄ‬،‫ﲔ ﻳ َ ْﻮ َم اﻟ ُْﻮ ُرو ِد‬ ْ ‫ أﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ‬j‫ﻴﻢ َ ر ِزﻳَّ ِﱵ‬ ِ ‫ﲔ َ وأ َ ْﺻ َﺤ‬ ِ ْ ‫ﺎب اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ِ ْ ‫ك َﻣ َﻊ اﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬ ‫ﲔ اﻟ َّ ِﺬﻳ َﻦ ﺑَ َﺬﻟُﻮا‬ َ ‫ﻗَ َﺪ َم ِ ﺻ ْﺪقٍ ِﻋﻨْ َﺪ‬ ِ ْ ‫ون ا ْﳊ ُ َﺴ‬ j‫ اﻟﺴﻼ َ ُم‬ َّ ‫ﲔ˛ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ‬ َ ‫ُﻣﻬَ َﺠ ُﻬ ْﻢ ُ د‬ O’ All{h! To you belongs all the praise, the praise of those who are thankful to You for their tribulations. All Praise belongs to All{h for my intense grief. O’ All{h, grant me the blessing of intercession of Íusayn on the Day of Appearance (before You) and strengthen me with a truthful stand in Your presence, along with Íusayn and the companions of Íusayn – those people who sacrificed everything for Íusayn, peace be upon him. The final section of this Ziy{rat which is recited in Sajdah – again shows us that this visitation is directed towards All{h and that He is always in our sight and this is a mention of our thanks. We 53

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance confirm that we praise Him just like those who have been plagued with tribulations glorify and sing His praise. We also conclude our visitation by asking All{h for the permission of Íusayn to intercede for us on the Day when we will all be gathered in His presence to be accountable for our sins, and that we are able to stand alongside Íusayn and his companions – those who sacrificed whatever they had for His cause. With this, we bring our visitation to the grandson of the Prophet to a close and ask All{h to accept our actions and to grant us the ability to be able to manifest all of what we have said in this supplication. We also ask All{h to give us the strength to be able to love those whom He has commanded us to love and to hate those whom He has commanded us to hate. We also ask for the Tawfeeq to be able to follow the footsteps of Íusayn and that we are able to reject the “Isl{m” of Yaz|d and the likes of him

W 54

DuÝ{ After Ziy{rat ÝÀshur{ - DuÝ{ Alqamah In some books of supplication, this supplication is referred to as DuÝ{ Alqamah named after the companion of Im{m as-Ñ{diq, peace be upon him, Alqamah. However, Shaykh ÝAbb{s alQummi quotes very clear traditions in Maf{t|Å al-Jin{n that Im{m as-Ñ{diq, peace be upon him, recited this duÝ{ in the presence of the companion Safw{n, not Alqamah. Therefore, the correct name of this supplication is DuÝ{ to be recited after Ziy{rat ÝÀsh}r{ or DuÝ{ Safw{n. Please note that the English translation of this supplication has been taken from www.duas.org.

‫ ﻳَﺎ َﺎ ِﺷ َﻒ ُﻛ َﺮ ِب‬،‫ِﻴﺐ دَ ْﻋ َﻮ ِة اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ ْﻀ َﻄ ّﺮِﻳ َﻦ‬ َ ‫ ﻳَﺎ ُ ﳎ‬، ‫ ا‬ ُ ‫ ا ﻳَﺎ‬ ُ ‫ ا ﻳَﺎ‬ ُ ‫ﻳَﺎ‬ ِ ِ ِ ،‫ﲔ‬ َ َ ‫ ﻳَﺎ ِﻏﻴ‬،‫ﲔ‬ َ ‫ ﻳَﺎ َﺻﺮِﻳ َﺦ اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ ْﺴﺘ َ ْﺼ ِﺮﺧ‬،‫ﲔ‬ َ ‫ﺎث اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ ْﺴﺘَﻐﻴﺜ‬ َ ِ‫اﻟـ ْ َﻤﻜ ُْﺮوﺑ‬

O All{h! O All{h! O All{h! O He who gives answer to the cries of the persecuted! O He who pulls out the grief-stricken from agony and anguish! O He who comes to help those who shed tears in helplessness! O he who brings relief to those who cry for help!

ِ َ ،‫ﲔ اﻟـْ َﻤ ْﺮءِ َ وﻗَﻠْﺒِ ِﻪ‬ ُ ُ‫ َ وﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ َﳛ‬،‫ َوﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ُﻫ َﻮ أﻗ َْﺮ ُب إ َِﱄَّ ﻣ ْﻦ َ ﺣﺒ ْ ِﻞ اﻟ َْﻮ ِرﻳ ِﺪ‬ َ ْ َ ‫ﻮل ﺑ‬ ،ِ‫ َ وﺑِﺎﻷُ ُﻓﻖِ اﻟـ ْ ُﻤﺒِﲔ‬،ٰ 6ْ َ ‫َوﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ُﻫ َﻮ ﺑِﺎﻟـ ْ َﻤﻨ ْ َﻈ ِﺮ اﻷ‬

O He who is close by, nearer than my jugular vein! O He who makes peace between heart and mind; O He whom people search in the highest and noblest perspectives; in true and evident distinctions!

DuÝ{ after Ziy{rat ÝÀshura – DuÝ{ Alqamah

ِ ‫ﻣ ﻫ ﻟﲪ ﻟ‬ َ‫ َ وﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ﻳَﻌْﻠ َ ُﻢ َ ﺧ ِﺎﺋﻨَﺔ‬،‫ﻮى‬ ٰ َ ‫ ٰ اﻟْﻌَ ْﺮ ِش ا ْﺳﺘ‬6َ ‫ﻴﻢ‬ ُ ‫ َوﻳَﺎ َ ْﻦ ُ َﻮ ا َّﺮ ْ ٰ ُﻦ ا َّﺮﺣ‬ j‫ور‬ ُّ ‫اﻷ َ ْ ُﲔ َِ و َﻣﺎ ُﲣْ ِﻔﻲ‬ ُ ‫ اﻟﺼ ُﺪ‬ O He who is Beneficent and Merciful in His authority! O He who knows what the furtive eyes betrays and what the secretive hearts conceal!

َ‫ وﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ﻻ‬، ُ ‫ ﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ﻻ َ ﺗَ ْﺸ َﺒِ ُﻪ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ اﻷ َ ْﺻ َﻮ‬،‫ َوﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ﻻ َ َﳜْ ٰ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ َ ﺧﺎﻓِﻴ َ ٌﺔ‬ َ ‫ات‬ ِ ِ ُ ‫ﱪﻣ ُﻪ إِﻟـ ْﺤ‬ ‫ك ُ ّ ِﻞ‬ َ ‫ ﻳَﺎ ُ ﻣ ْﺪ ِر‬،‫ﲔ‬ ُ ‫ﺎﺟ‬ َ ‫ُﺗﻐَﻠِّ ُﻄ ُﻪ اﻟـ ْ َﺤ‬ َ ُ ِ ْ ُ‫ َ وﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ﻻ َ ﻳ‬،‫ﺎت‬ َ ‫ﺎح اﻟـ ْ ُﻤﻠ ّﺤ‬ ِ ‫ َ وﻳَﺎ ﺑﺎ ِر َى اﻟﻨُّ ُﻔ‬،‫ﴰ ٍﻞ‬ ،‫ﻮس ﺑَﻌْ َﺪ اﻟـ ْ َﻤ ْﻮ ِت‬ ْ َ ‫ َ وﻳَﺎ ﺟﺎ ِﻣ َﻊ ُ ّ ِﻞ‬،‫ﻓَ ْﻮ ٍت‬ O He whom do not deceive those who do everything in secret! O He whom intermingled voices of the countless callers (supplicants) do not stop from giving answer to each and every one! O He whom wants and needs of the infinite needy do not put in confusion for attending to one and all separately! O he whom clamorous determined pleading of petitioners do not upset! O He who reaches and takes hold of everything that tries to escape! O He who keeps together and brings into harmony people who know and understand! O He who examines the souls when they present themselves before Him after death!

ِ ْ ِ َ ‫ ﻳَﺎ ُﻣﻨ َ ِّﻔ َﺲ اﻟ ْ ُﻜﺮﺑ‬،‫ﺎت‬ ِ ‫ﺎﺟ‬ ‫ ﻳَﺎ‬،‫ﺎت‬ َ ‫ ﻳَﺎ ﻗﺎﺿ َﻲ اﻟـ ْ َﺤ‬، ٍ‫ ﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ُﻫ َﻮ ُ َّﻞ ﻳ َ ْﻮ ٍم ِ ﰲ َﺷﺄن‬ ُ ِ ‫ ﺎﰲ اﻟـ ْﻤ ِﻬ َﻤ‬ ِ ِ ُّ ‫ُﻣﻌْ ِﻄﻲ ا‬ ‫ ﻳَﺎ َﻣ ْﻦ ﻳ َ ْﻜ ِﻔﻲ ِﻣ ْﻦ‬،‫ﺎت‬ ّ ُ َ ِ ‫ ﻳَﺎ‬،‫ ﻳَﺎ َ و ِﱄَّ اﻟ َّﺮ َﻏﺒ َﺎت‬،‫ﻟﺴ ُﺆﻻ َت‬ َ ِ ‫ اﻟﺴﻤﺎو‬ ‫ﺷ ٍ ﻳﻜ ِﻔ ِ ﺷ‬ j‫ات َ واﻷ َ ْر ِض‬ َ َ َّ ‫ ُ ّ ِﻞ َْﻲء َ وﻻَ َ ْ ﻲ ﻣﻨ ْ ُﻪ َْﻲ ٌء ِ ﰲ‬ O he who, each day, has (new) distinct glory! O Fulfiller of wants and needs! O He who gives confront and respite in distress! O He 56

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance who liberally satisfies those who solicit His favours! O He who stands by and follow close upon those who humble and fervently call on Him! O He who effectively support those who make sincere efforts! O He who is equal to and can do anything instead of another in the matters concerning all things; and nothing, in the heavens and the earth, can be out of the reach of or is free from His hold.

ِ َ ُ ‫ أَﺳﺄَﻟ‬ ِِ ٍ ِ ‫ٍ أ َ ِﻣ‬6ّ ِ َ ‫ َ و‬،‫ﲔ‬ َ‫ َ و ِﲝ َ ّ ِﻖ ﻓَﺎ ِﻃ َﻤﺔ‬،‫ﲔ‬ ْ َ ‫ﲑ اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ ْﺆﻣﻨ‬ َ ّ ‫ﻚ ﲝ َ ّ ِﻖ ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤﺪ َ ﺧﺎﺗَ ِﻢ اﻟﻨَّﺒِ ِﻴ‬ ِ ْ ‫ َ و ِﲝ َ ّ ِﻖ اﻟـ ْ َﺤ َﺴﻦِ َ واﻟـ ْ ُﺤ َﺴ‬،‫ﻚ‬ ‫ﻚ ِ ﰲ َ ﻣﻘﺎ ِﻣ ِﻲ‬ َ ْ ‫ ﻓَﺈ ِِّﱐ ﺑِ ِﻬ ْﻢ أَﺗَ َﻮ َّﺟ ُﻪ إِﻟَﻴ‬،‫ﲔ‬ َ ّ ِ‫ِﻴ‬Rَ‫ﺑِﻨ ْ ِﺖ ﻧ‬ ،‫ﻚ‬ َ ْ ‫ َ وﺑِ ِﻬ ْﻢ أَﺗ َ َﺸ َّﻔ ُﻊ إِﻟَﻴ‬،‫ َ وﺑِ ِﻬ ْﻢ أَﺗَ َﻮ َّﺳ ُﻞ‬،‫ﻫٰ َﺬا‬ I beseech You in the name of MuÅammad, the last Prophet, and ÝAl|, the Commander of the Faithful, in the name of F{„imah, the daughter of Your Prophet, and in the name of Íasan and Íusayn. I direct myself towards You, through them, in my address, through them I try to get a hearing, through them I put forward my case to get Your favours,

‫ك‬ َ ْ ‫ﻚ َ وأُﻗْ ِﺴ ُﻢ َ وأَﻋْ ِﺰ ُم َﻠَﻴ‬ َ ُ ‫ َو ِﲝ َ ّﻘِ ِﻬ ْﻢ أ َ ْﺳﺄَﻟ‬ َ ‫ َ وﺑِﺎﻟ َّﺸﺄْنِ اﻟ َّ ِﺬي ﻟـ َ ُﻬ ْﻢ ِﻋﻨ ْ َﺪ‬،‫ﻚ‬ ِ ِ ِ ْ ِ‫ َ وﺑ‬،‫ﲔ‬ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫ﺎﲰ‬ َ ‫َوﺑِﺎﻟْﻘَ ْﺪ ِر اﻟ َّ ِﺬي ﻟـ َ ُﻬ ْﻢ ِﻋﻨ ْ َﺪ‬ َ ‫ ٰ اﻟْﻌَﺎﻟـ َﻤ‬6َ ‫ َ وﺑِﺎﻟَّﺬي ﻓَ َّﻀﻠ ْﺘ َ ُﻬ ْﻢ‬،‫ك‬

ِ ِ ِ ِ ‫ْﺘ َ ُﻬ ْﻢ‬sَ ‫ َ وﺑِ ِﻪ أَﺑ‬،‫ﲔ‬ َ ‫ َ وﺑِﻪ َ ﺧ َﺼ ْﺼﺘ َ ُﻬ ْﻢ ُ د‬،‫اﻟَّﺬي َ ﺟﻌَﻠْﺘ َ ُﻪ ﻋﻨ ْ َﺪ ُﻫ ْﻢ‬ َ ‫ون اﻟْﻌَﺎﻟـ َﻤ‬ ِ ِ ِ ‫ﲔ‬ َ َ‫ﲔ َ ﺣ َّﱴ ﻓ‬ َ ْ ‫َوأَﺑَﻨ‬ َ ‫ﺎق ﻓَ ْﻀﻠ ُ ُﻬ ْﻢ ﻓَ ْﻀ َﻞ اﻟْﻌَﺎﻟـ َﻤ‬ َ ‫ﺖ ﻓَ ْﻀﻠ َ ُﻬ ْﻢ ﻣ ْﻦ ﻓَ ْﻀ ِﻞ اﻟْﻌَﺎﻟـ َﻤ‬ jً ‫َﲨِﻴﻌﺎ‬ In their names I make a request to You; bound to You by oath, living a life according to Your commands, I carry out my pledge by 57

DuÝ{ after Ziy{rat ÝÀshura – DuÝ{ Alqamah every means, in the name of the love and devotion You has for them, and the influence and status they enjoy in every dimension of Your will, the superior most pre-eminence in wisdom and character You bestowed upon them to transcend above everything in the whole universe, in the name of Your name You revealed to them in trust, on account of which You chose them in preference over everything found in the heavens and the earths, through which You built their syndrome, developed to perfection their surpassing excellence in knowledge, learning and deeds, out of all the rest of the people, till their completeness surpassed the total achievement of all the people put together;

ِ ‫ ٰ ُﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ و‬6َ ‫ﻚ أ َ ْن ُﺗ َﺼﻠِّ َﻲ‬ ‫ﳘﻲ‬ ِّ َ ‫آل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ وأ َ ْن ﺗَ ْﻜ ِﺸ َﻒ َ ِ ّﲏ َﻏ ِّﻤﻲ َ و‬ َ ُ ‫ أ َ ْﺳﺄَﻟ‬ ‫ َ ِﲏ اﻟـ ْﻤ ِﻬ َﻢ ِﻣ ْﻦ أُ ُﻣﻮ ِر ﺗﻘ ِﻀ‬J‫ وﺗَ ْﻜ ِﻔ‬،‫وﻛ َْﺮ ِﰊ‬ ‫ و ُ ِﲡﲑ َ ِﱐ ِﻣ َﻦ‬، َ ‫ و َ ْ َﻲ َ ِ ّﲏ دَﻳ ْ ِﲏ‬،‫ي‬ َ َ َ ّ ُ ِ ِ َ ِ ِ ،‫ﲔ‬ َ ْ ‫ َ ِﲏ ﻋَﻦِ اﻟـ ْ َﻤ ْﺴﺄﻟَﺔ إِﱃ ٰ اﻟ‬J‫ َ و ُﺗﻐ ْ ِﻨ‬،‫ َ و ُ ِﲡﲑ َ ِﱐ ﻣ َﻦ اﻟ ْ َﻔﺎﻗَﺔ‬،‫اﻟ ْ َﻔ ْﻘ ِﺮ‬ َ ‫ـﻤ ْﺨﻠُﻮﻗ‬ ‫ و ُﺣ ُﺰوﻧ َ َﺔ َﻣ ْﻦ‬، َّ َ ‫ﺎف‬ ُ َ ‫ و ُﻋ ْﺴ َﺮ َﻣ ْﻦ أ‬، ُ ‫ َ ِﲏ َ ﻫ َّﻢ َﻣ ْﻦ أ َ َﺧ‬J‫َوﺗَ ْﻜ ِﻔ‬ َ 2ُ ‫ﺧﺎف ُﻋ ْﺴ َﺮ‬ َ ‫ ﳘ ُﻪ‬ ‫ َ وﺑَﻐ ْ َﻲ َﻣ ْﻦ‬،2ُ ‫ﺧﺎف َﻣﻜ َْﺮ‬ ُ َ ‫ َ و َﺷ َّﺮ َﻣ ْﻦ أ‬،‫ﺧﺎف ُﺣ ُﺰوﻧَﺘ َ ُﻪ‬ ُ َ‫أ‬ ُ َ ‫ َ و َﻣﻜ َْﺮ َﻣ ْﻦ أ‬،2ُ ‫ﺧﺎف َﺷ َّﺮ‬ ،‫ﺧﺎف ُ ﺳﻠ ْ َﻄﺎﻧ َ ُﻪ‬ ُ َ ‫ﺎن َﻣ ْﻦ أ‬ ُ ‫ َ و َﺟ ْﻮ َر َﻣ ْﻦ أ َ َﺧ‬،‫ﺎف ﺑَﻐْﻴ َ ُﻪ‬ ُ ‫أ َ َﺧ‬ َ ‫ َ و ُﺳﻠ ْ َﻄ‬،2ُ ‫ﺎف َﺟ ْﻮ َر‬ ‫ َ وﺗَ ُﺮ َّد َ ِ ّﲏ َﻛﻴ ْ َﺪ‬،‫ﺎف َ ﻣ ْﻘ ُﺪ َرﺗَ ُﻪ َﻠ َ َّﻲ‬ ُ ‫ َ و َﻣ ْﻘ ُﺪ َرةَ َﻣ ْﻦ أ َ َﺧ‬،2ُ ‫ﺎف َﻛﻴ ْ َﺪ‬ ُ ‫َو َﻛﻴ ْ َﺪ َﻣ ْﻦ أ َ َﺧ‬ j‫ َ و َﻣﻜ َْﺮ اﻟـ ْ َﻤﻜ ََﺮ ِة‬،‫اﻟ ْ َﻜﻴ َ َﺪ ِة‬ I request You to send blessings on MuÅammad and on the children of MuÅammad; (and) look into the causes of my sorrows, anxieties, burdens, and do away with them, let me be equal to, sufficiently instructed, while dealing with my important enterprises and efforts, (and) carry out and fulfil my obligations, 58

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance set me free from the clutches of poverty and from the pangs of hunger, let me have enough to live upon, free from the need to turn to others, let me be an adequate match for him who, I am afraid, shall create trouble, thwart the schemes of the one who, I am afraid, shall treat me harshly, let him, who, I am afraid, shall vex me, come to grief, expose and rebuke him, who, I am afraid, shall slander me, layout a plan to defeat him, who, I and afraid, shall try to deceive me by stratagem, take notice and act swiftly against him, who, I am afraid, shall treat me unjustly, take me into Your custody to keep safe from the one who, I am afraid, shall tyrannize me, exercise Your supreme authority to keep him in check, who, I am afraid, shall rule over me, outwit him, who, I am afraid, shall lay traps to deceive me cunningly, make ready a fitting reply to him who, I am afraid, shall oppress me; keep off from me the obstinate deceit of the vindictive malicious, and the crafty artifice of the cunning imposter.

َ َ َ ِ 2ُ ‫ َ و َﻣﻜ َْﺮ‬2ُ ‫ وا ْﺻ ِﺮ ْف َ ِ ّﲏ َﻛﻴ ْ َﺪ‬، َ 2ُ ‫ و َﻣ ْﻦ ﺎدَ ِﱐ ﻓَﻜ ْﺪ‬، َ 2ُ ْ‫أﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ َﻣ ْﻦ أ َرادَ ِﱐ ﻓَﺄ ِرد‬ ْ ِ j‫ﺖ‬ َ ْ ‫ﺖ َ وأ َ َّﱏ ِﺷﺌ‬ َ ْ ‫َوﺑَﺄ َﺳ ُﻪ َ وأ َ َﻣﺎﻧﻴ َّ ُﻪ َ و ْاﻣﻨَﻌْ ُﻪ َ ِ ّﲏ َﻛﻴ ْ َﻒ ِﺷﺌ‬ O my All{h put an end to the intentions of him who desires to destroy me, outwit him who makes plans, keep off from me his deceit and intrigue, his hostility and fancy, keep me aloof, refusing to have anything to do with him, in whatever manner, on any occasion, as You wills.

ٍ َ ٍ ‫ِ ﺑِﻔﻘ‬ ،‫ َ وﺑِ َﻔﺎﻗ َ ٍﺔ ﻻ َ ﺗَ ُﺴ ُّﺪ َﻫﺎ‬،2ُ ‫ﱰ‬ َ 2ُ ‫ﱪ‬ ُ ُ ‫ وﺑِﺒَﻼ َء ﻻ َ ﺗَ ْﺴ‬، ُ ُ ْ‫أﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ ا ْﺷﻐَﻠ ْ ُﻪ َ ّﲏ َ ْﺮ ﻻ َ َ ﲡ‬ ٍ ٍ ِ ِ ‫ِ ِ ٍ ﺗ ِﻌ‬ j‫ﱪ َﻫﺎ‬ ُ ُ ْ‫ َ وﺑـ َﻤ ْﺴ َﻜﻨَﺔ ﻻ َ َ ﲡ‬،2ُ ‫ َ و ُذ ّل ﻻَ ُ ُّﺰ‬،‫َوﺑ ُﺴ ْﻘﻢ ﻻَ ُﺗﻌَﺎﻓﻴﻪ‬ O my All{h divert his attention from me and involve him in his own over bearing anxieties which You will not cut down, in misfortune which You will not make easy to deal with, in waywardness from which You will not lead him back on the right 59

DuÝ{ after Ziy{rat ÝÀshura – DuÝ{ Alqamah path, in spiritless laziness which You will never change into fruitful activity, infamy and disgrace from which You will not allow him to rise to the surface, in broken fortune which You will not let get set.

ِ‫َ ﺿ‬ ُ َ‫ َ واﻟْﻌِﻠَّﺔ‬،‫ َ وأَدْ ِﺧ ْﻞ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ اﻟ ْ َﻔ ْﻘ َﺮ ِ ﰲ َ ﻣ ْ ِ ﻟ ِ ِﻪ‬،‫َﻴ ْ ِﻪ‬sْ ‫ﺐ َﻴ‬ َ ‫أﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ ا ْ ﺮ ْب ﺑِﺎﻟ ّﺬ ِ ّل ﻧ َ ْﺼ‬ ‫ َ وأَﻧ ْ ِﺴ ِﻪ‬،‫اﻟﺴ ْﻘ َﻢ ِ ﰲ ﺑ َ َﺪﻧِ ِﻪ َ ﺣ َّﱴ ﺗَ ْﺸﻐَﻠ َ ُﻪ َ ِ ّﲏ ﺑِ ُﺸﻐ ْ ٍﻞ ﺷﺎ ِ¡ ٍﻞ ﻻ َ ﻓَﺮاغَ ﻟ َ ُﻪ‬ ُّ ‫َو‬ 2ِ ‫ َ وﻟِﺴﺎﻧِ ِﻪ َ وﻳ َ ِﺪ‬2ِ ‫ َ و ُﺧ ْﺬ َ ِ ّﲏ ﺑِ َﺴ ْﻤﻌِ ِﻪ َ وﺑ َ َﺼ ِﺮ‬،‫ك‬ َ ‫ْﺘ َ ُﻪ ِذﻛ َْﺮ‬J‫ِذ ْﻛ ِﺮي َﻛﻤﺎ أَﻧ ْ َﺴ‬ ِ ِ ِِ ِِ َ‫ اﻟﺴ ْﻘ َﻢ َ وﻻ‬ َ ِ ‫ وأَدْ ِﺧ ْﻞ َﻠَﻴ ْ ِﻪ ِ ﰲ َﲨِﻴ ِﻊ ذ ٰﻟ‬، ُّ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ‫َو ِر ْﺟﻠﻪ َ وﻗَﻠْﺒِﻪ َ و َﲨﻴ ِﻊ َﺟﻮا ِرﺣﻪ‬ ِ ‫ َ وا ْﻛ ِﻔ ِﲏ ﻳَﺎ‬،‫ﻚ ﻟ َ ُﻪ ُ ﺷﻐْﻼً ﺷﺎ ِ¡ﻼ ًﺑِ ِﻪ َ ِ ّﲏ َ وﻋَ ْﻦ ِذ ْﻛ ِﺮي‬ َ‫ ﺎﰲ‬ َ ِ ‫ﺗَ ْﺸ ِﻔ ِﻪ َ ﺣ َّﱴ َ ﲡْﻌَ َﻞ ذﻟ‬ ِ َ ‫ﺎﰲ ﻻ‬£ ِ ْ ‫ﻚ اﻟ‬ ،‫ﻮاك‬ َ َّ ‫ﻮاك ﻓَﺈِﻧ‬ َ ‫ َ و ُﻣ َﻔ ّ ِﺮ ٌج ﻻ َ ُﻣ َﻔ ّ ِﺮ َج ِﺳ‬،‫ﻮاك‬ َ ‫ ﺎﰲ َ ِﺳ‬ َ ‫َﻣﺎ ﻻ َ ﻳ َ ْﻜ ِﻔﻲ ِﺳ‬ j‫ﻮاك‬ َ ‫ ﺟﺎر ِﺳ‬ َ ‫ﻴﺚ ِﺳ‬ ٌ ِ‫َو ُﻣﻐ‬ َ ِ‫ﻴﺚ ﻻ َ ُ ﻣﻐ‬ ٌ ‫ َ و‬،‫ﻮاك‬ َ َ ‫ﺟﺎر ﻻ‬ O my All{h let contemptible disgrace stick like a leech on the forehead between his two eyes, expose him to emptiness in every effort he makes, let wicked inclination, distraction and inactivity cut deep into his body and soul, in order that You diverts his attention from, me, absorbed in his own pursuits that do not free him to employ himself at another, make him think no more of me as he has willfully neglected and forgotten You, take away from me and throw overboard his attention, interest, communication, influence, support, and perverted thinking every evil he commits or draws it on himself, let everything he does go waste, defective and incomplete, and do not give any letup so that he is kept fully preoccupied and gets no time to pay attention to me or think of me. Give enough to me, O He who effectively and completely gives satisfaction. There is no one other than You who gives sufficiently, 60

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance because You alone gives enough, no one else gives to the seeker’s satisfaction except You. You dispels the clouds of sorrows, no one else, save You can free the grief-stricken from cares. You comes to help, no one else, except You, can do a favour when called for help. You art near, ready to avert the danger, no one else, save You, is close enough to stand by in the hour of trouble.

،‫اك‬ َ ‫ َ و َﻣ ْﻔ َﺰ ُﻋ ُﻪ إِﱃ ٰ ِﺳ َﻮ‬،‫اك‬ َ ‫ﺜُ ُﻪ ِﺳ َﻮ‬Jِ‫ َ و ُﻣﻐ‬،‫اك‬ َ ‫ ِﺳ َﻮ‬2ُ ‫ﺎن َ ﺟ ُﺎر‬ َ َ ‫ﺎب َﻣ ْﻦ‬ َ ‫َﺧ‬ ِ ْ َ¡ ٍ‫ ِﻣ ْﻦ َﳐْﻠُﻮق‬2‫ َ و َﻣﻨ ْ َﺠ ُﺎ‬،‫ك‬ ِ ْ َ ¡ٰ ‫ إِﱃ‬2ُ ‫ َ و َﻣﻠ ْ َﺠ ُﺆ‬،‫اك‬ ‫ ﻓَﺄَﻧ ْ َﺖ‬،‫ك‬ َ ‫ﲑ‬ َ ‫ﲑ‬ َ ‫َو َﻣﻬْ َﺮ ُﺑ ُﻪ إِﱃ ٰ ِﺳ َﻮ‬ ِ ِ ِ ِ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ِ‫ َ وﺑ‬،‫ﻚ أ َ ْﺳﺘ َ ْﻔﺘِ ُﺢ‬ َ ِ‫ ﻓَﺒ‬،‫ﺎي‬ َ ‫ﺛﻘَ ِﱵ َ و َر َﺟﺎﺋﻲ َ و َﻣ ْﻔ َﺰﻋﻲ َ و َﻣﻬْ َﺮ ِﰊ َ و َﻣﻠ ْ َﺠﺌﻲ َ و َﻣﻨ ْ َﺠ‬ ِ ‫ َ وﺑِـ ُﻤ َﺤ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ و‬،‫أ َ ْﺳ َﻨ ْ ِﺠ ُﺢ‬ j‫ﻚ َ وأَﺗَ َﻮ َّﺳ ُﻞ َوأَﺗَ َﺸ َّﻔ ُﻊ‬ َ ْ ‫آل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ أَﺗَ َﻮ َّﺟ ُﻪ إِﻟَﻴ‬ Comes to grief he who relies upon his own friends instead of You; or looks for his own supporters in place of You; frightened, cries for help having some one else other than You in mind; terrorized, runs away from the danger to a place of escape outside of Your guaranty, and takes refuge in an asylum not watched over by You; and tries to bring himself to a place of safety through the help of created beings, excluding You, the Creator, Therefore, You art my trust, my hope, my retreat, my refuge, my security, unto which one can run for safety, for this reason I call for Your help, and seek Your support to carry out my affairs easily and successfully, through MuÅammad and the children of MuÅammad I present myself before You, try to draw Your attention and ask for salvation.

‫ﻚ اﻟ ُّﺸﻜ ُْﺮ َ وإِﻟَﻴ َ ﻟـﻤﺸﺘ‬ َ َ ‫ﻚ ا ْﳊ َ ْﻤ ُﺪ َ وﻟ‬ َ َ ‫ﻓَﻠ‬، ‫ ا‬ َ ُ ‫ ﻓَﺄ َ ْﺳﺄَﻟ‬ ْ ٰ ¦َ ْ ُ ْ ‫ﻚ ا‬ ُ ‫ ا ﻳَﺎ‬ ُ ‫ ا ﻳَﺎ‬ ُ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ‬ j‫ﻌﺎن‬ َ ْ ‫َوأَﻧ‬ ُ َ ‫ﺖ اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ ْﺴﺘ‬ 61

DuÝ{ after Ziy{rat ÝÀshura – DuÝ{ Alqamah So I beseech You, O All{h! O All{h! O All{h! Because (all) praise is for You (alone), and also prostration in thankfulness, You alone listens to complaints, You alone is called upon for help.

ِ ‫ ٰ ُﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ و‬6َ ‫ ا ِﲝَ ّﻖ ُِ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ وآ ِل ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ أ َ ْن ُﺗ َﺼﻠِّ َﻲ‬ ‫آل‬ َ ُ ‫ ﻓَﺄ َ ْﺳﺄَﻟ‬ ُ ‫ ا ﻳَﺎ‬ ُ ‫ ا ﻳَﺎ‬ ُ ‫ﻚ ﻳَﺎ‬ ِ ‫ُﳏ َﻤ ٍﺪ وأَن ﺗَ ْﻜ ِﺸﻒ ِﲏ َﻏ ِﻤ‬ ِ ‫ﳘ‬ ‫ﺖ‬ َ ‫ﻲ وﻛ َْﺮ ِﰊ ِ ﰲ َ ﻣﻘَﺎﻣﻲ ﻫٰ َﺬا َﻛ َﻤﺎ َﻛ َﺸ ْﻔ‬ ْ َ َّ َ ّ َ ‫ﻲ و‬ َ ّ َّ َ ‫ ﻓَﺎ ْﻛ ِﺸ ْﻒ َ ِ ّﲏ َﻛ َﻤﺎ‬،2ِ ‫ْﺘ َ ُﻪ َﻫ ْﻮ َل َ ُﺪ ِّو‬J‫ و َﻛ َﻔ‬، َّ َ ‫ﻚ‬ َ ّ ‫ ِِﻴ‬Rَ‫ﻋَ ْﻦ ﻧ‬ َ ‫ ﳘ ُﻪ َ و َﻏ َّﻤ ُﻪ َ وﻛ َْﺮﺑ َ ُﻪ‬ ،‫ْﺘ َ ُﻪ‬J‫ َ وا ْﻛ ِﻔ ِﲏ َﻛ َﻤﺎ َﻛ َﻔ‬،‫ﺖ ﻋَﻨ ْ ُﻪ‬ َ ‫ َ وﻓَ ّ ِﺮ ْج َ ِ ّﲏ َﻛ َﻤﺎ ﻓَ َّﺮ ْﺟ‬،‫ﺖ ﻋَﻨ ْ ُﻪ‬ َ ‫َﻛ َﺸ ْﻔ‬ So I beseech You, O All{h! O All{h! O All{h! In the name of Muƒammad and the children of MuÅammad to send blessings on Muƒammad and on the children of Muƒammad, to put to flight the sorrows, the anxieties, the burdens, now surrounding me from all sides, just as You made Your Prophet free of his sorrows, anxieties and burden, and saved him from the terror of his enemies, in such manner as You made him to do so, let me also do the same, let me be free of care as You gave him joy, heart and confidence, let me have enough and be contended as You gave him sufficiently.

‫ و َﻫ َّﻢ َ ﻣﺎ‬، ُ ‫ و َﻣ ُﺆوﻧَﺔَ َ ﻣﺎ أ َ َﺧ‬، ُ ‫َوا ْﺻ ِﺮ ْف َ ِ ّﲏ َﻫ ْﻮ َل َ ﻣﺎ أ َ َﺧ‬ َ ‫ﺎف َﻣ ُﺆوﻧَﺘ َ ُﻪ‬ َ ‫ﺎف َﻫ ْﻮﻟ َ ُﻪ‬ ،‫ َ وا ْﺻ ِﺮﻓْ ِﲏ ﺑِﻘَ َﻀﺎءِ َﺣ َﻮا ِﺋ ِﺠﻲ‬،‫ﻚ‬ َّ َ ‫ﺎف‬ َ ِ ‫ ٰ ﻧ َ ْﻔ ِﺴﻲ ِﻣ ْﻦ ذ ٰﻟ‬6َ ‫ ﺑِﻼ َ َﻣ ُﺆوﻧ َ ٍﺔ‬،‫ ﳘ ُﻪ‬ ُ ‫أ َ َﺧ‬ ِ ِ ُ َ ‫ﳘ ِﲏ‬ ِ j‫ﺎي‬ ّ َّ َ َ ‫َو ِﻛ َﻔﺎﻳَﺔ َ ﻣﺎ أ‬ َ َ ‫ ﳘ ُﻪ ﻣ ْﻦ أ َ ْﻣ ِﺮ آﺧ َﺮ ِﰐ َ و ُدﻧْﻴ‬ Send away from me the terror that frightens me, the encumbrance that I find burdensome, the anxieties that wear me down, freeing me from their impact. Make me use my means freely to carry out and complete my business or employment, and do anything 62

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance requisite instead of another, which may make me anxious about my affairs in this world or the hereafter.

َ ِ ‫ َﻠَﻴ ُﻜﻤﺎ ِﻣ ِ ّﲏ ﺳﻼ َم‬، ‫ا‬ ِ ِ َ ِ ِ ِ ْ ‫ ﻳَﺎ أ َ ِﻣﲑ‬ ‫ﻴﺖ‬ ُ ‫ ا أﺑَﺪا ً َ ﻣﺎ ﺑَﻘ‬ َ ْ ‫ﲔ َ وﻳَﺎ أﺑ َﺎ ﻋَﺒْﺪ‬ َ ‫ ُﻣ ْﺆﻣﻨ‬،‫ ال‬ َ ُ َ ِ َ ‫ ا آ ِﺧ َﺮ اﻟْﻌﻬْ ِﺪ ِﻣ ْﻦ ِزﻳ‬ َ ِ ‫ﺑﻘ‬ ‫ﺎ وﻻ َ ﻓَ َّﺮ َق‬ َ َ ‫ﺎرﺗ ُﻜ َﻤ‬ َ ‫ﻬﺎر‬ َ ُ َّ‫َو َ َﻲ اﻟﻠ ّﻴ ْ ُﻞ واﻟﻨ‬ ُ ‫ وﻻ َ َ ﺟﻌَﻠ َ ُﻪ‬، j‫ْﻨ َ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ‬Jَ‫ ْ ِﲏ َ وﺑ‬Jَ‫ا ﺑ‬ ُ O the Commander of the Faithful! O Ab{ ÝAbdill{h! So far I am live and the days and nights follow each other I invoke All{h to send blessings on you forever and ever. May All{h not make my this pledge of physical and spiritual close association with you (both) the last fulfillment, and may All{h not separate me and you (both) from one another.

،‫ ٰ ِﻣﻠَّﺘِ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬6َ ‫ َ وﺗَ َﻮ َّﻓ ِﲏ‬،‫ َ وأ َ ِﻣ ْ ِﲏ َ ﻣـ َﻤﺎﺗَـ ُﻬ ْﻢ‬،‫ ِِﲏ َ ﺣﻴَﺎةَ ُ ﳏ َ َّﻤ ٍﺪ َ و ُذ ِّرﻳَّﺘِ ِﻪ‬J‫أ َﻟﻠ ُﻬ َّﻢ أ َ ْﺣ‬

ٍ ْ َ ‫ْﻨ َ ُﻬ ْﻢ َﻃ ْﺮﻓَ َﺔ‬Jَ‫ ْ ِﲏ َ وﺑ‬Jَ‫ َ وﻻَ ُﺗ َﻔ ّ ِﺮ ْق ﺑ‬،‫َوا ْﺣ ُﺸ ْﺮ ِﱐ ِ ﰲ ُ ز ْﻣ َﺮﺗِـ ِﻬ ْﻢ‬ ‫ﲔ أَﺑَﺪا ً ِ ﰲ اﻟ ُّﺪﻧْﻴ َﺎ‬ j‫َواﻵ ِﺧ َﺮ ِة‬

O my All{h let me have a meaningful existence as Muƒammad his descendants had lived, and die as they departed from this world, take to and carry out completely their creed; and raise me for the last judgement alongwith the people dedicated to them, and do not cut (us) in two (groups), even for the flash of an eyelid, ever, either in this world or in the life of the hereafter.

ِ ‫ْﺘُ ُﻜﻤﺎ زَا ِﺋﺮا ً وﻣﺘَﻮ ِﺳﻼ ً إِﱃ‬Jَ‫ أَﺗ‬، ‫ا‬ ِ ‫ ﻳَﺎ أ َ ِﻣﲑ اﻟـ ْﻤ ْﺆ ِﻣ ِﻨﲔ وﻳَﺎ أَﺑ َﺎ ﻋَﺒ ِﺪ‬ ‫ا َ ر ِ ّﰊ‬ ٰ َّ َُ َ ْ َ َ ُ َ ِ ‫ وﻣﺴﺘ َ ْﺸ ِﻔﻌﺎ ًﺑِ ُﻜﻤﺎ إِﱃ‬،‫ وﻣﺘَﻮ ِّﺟﻬﺎ ًإِﻟَﻴ ِﻪ ﺑِ ُﻜﻤﺎ‬،‫ورﺑِّ ُﻜﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﺎﺟ ِﱵ‬ َ ‫ا ﺗَﻌَﺎﱃ ٰ ِﰲ َ ﺣ‬ ٰ َ ْ َُ َ ْ َ َُ َ ََ 63

DuÝ{ after Ziy{rat ÝÀshura – DuÝ{ Alqamah

ِِ ِ ‫ﺎ ﱄ ﻓَﺈ َِن ﻟ َ ُﻜﻤﺎ ِﻋﻨ ْ َﺪ‬ ،‫ﻴﻪ‬ َ ‫ اﻟ َْﻮ ِﺟ‬2‫ واﻟـ ْ َﺠ َﺎ‬، َ ْ ‫ﺎم اﻟ‬ َ َ‫ـﻤ ْﺤ ُﻤﻮد‬ َ ّ ِ َ ‫ ﻓَﺎ ْﺷ َﻔﻌ‬2‫ﻫٰﺬ‬ َ َ‫ ا اﻟـ ْ َﻤﻘ‬ ,‫َواﻟـ ْ َﻤ ْ ِ َل اﻟ َّﺮﻓِﻴ َﻊ َ واﻟ َْﻮ ِﺳﻴﻠ َ َﺔ‬ O the Commander of the Faithful! O Ab{ ÝAbdill{h! I come nearer to (you both) to establish close physical and spiritual relationship, and thereby seek nearness to All{h, my lord Nourishes and your lord Nourisher, through you I direct myself towards Him, and request you to speak in favour of my immediate at hand needs and wants I have put before All{h. So please speak well of me because, of course, with All{h your thoughtful judgement is highly credible, your disposition enjoys conclusive preference, your action keeps step with precise acumen, and a sure means of approach to gain His favour.

ِ ِ ِ ‫ﺎﺟ ِﺔ وﻗَ َﻀ ِﺎﺋﻬَﺎ وﻧـَ َﺠﺎ ِﺣﻬَﺎ ِﻣ َﻦ‬ ِ َ ‫ ا‬ َ َ َ ‫ْﺘَﻈﺮا ً ﻟ َﻨ َ ُّﺠ ِﺰ اﻟـ ْ َﺤ‬s ‫إ ِِّﱐ أﻧْﻘَﻠ ُﺐ ﻋَﻨ ْ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ ُﻣ‬ ِ ‫ ا ِ ﰲ ذ ٰﻟ‬ ِ َ ‫ﻚ ﻓَﻼ أ‬ ِ ‫ﺑِ َﺸ َﻔﺎﻋَﺘِ ُﻜﻤﺎ ِ ﱄ إ َِﱃ‬ ً ‫ﻮن ُﻣﻨْﻘَﻠَﺒِﻲ ُ ﻣﻨْﻘَﻠَﺒﺎ ً َ ﺧ ِﺎﺋﺒﺎ‬ ‫ﺧ‬ َ َ ُ ‫ َ وﻻَ ﻳَﻜ‬،‫ﻴﺐ‬ ُ ِ ِ‫ﻮن ُﻣﻨْﻘَﻠَﺒِﻲ ُ ﻣﻨ ْ َﻘﻠَﺒﺎ ً َرا ِﺟﺤﺎ ً ُ ﻣ ْﻔﻠِﺤﺎ ًُﻣﻨ ْ ِﺠﺤﺎ ً ُ ﻣ ْﺴﺘَﺠﺎﺑﺎ ً ﺑِﻘَ َﻀﺎء‬ ُ ‫ ﺑ َ ْﻞ ﻳ َ ُﻜ‬،ً‫َﺧﺎﺳﺮا‬ ِ ‫َﲨِﻴ ِﻊ َﺣﻮا ِﺋ ِﺠﻲ وﺗَ َﺸ َّﻔﻌﺎ ِ ﱄ إ َِﱃ‬ j ‫ ا‬ َ I looked for and went through all possibilities and finally brought myself over to you in the hope of obtaining, speedily and successfully, fulfillment of my demands, their final settlement and favourable execution by All{h on account of your recommendations on my behalf to get All{h’s approval. So, let not my “seeing the light” be a bitter and “fallen short” change of heart, but make my “accepting the true faith” resolution a turning point leading to preference and full satisfaction in the matter of the disposal of my wants and needs; 64

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance

ِ ‫ ﻣ َﻔ ِﻮﺿﺎ ً أ َ ْﻣ ِﺮي إ َِﱃ‬، ‫ﺎ‬ ِ َ

، ‫ ا‬ ّ ُ ِ‫ ا َ وﻻ َ َﺣ ْﻮ َل َ وﻻ َ ُﻗ َّﻮةَ إِﻻّ ﺑ‬ ُ َ‫َ َ ﻣﺎ َﺷﺎء‬6َ ‫إِﻧْﻘَﻠَﺒ ْ ُﺖ‬ ِ َ ِ َ6َ ً ‫ ﻣﺘَﻮ ِ ّﻼ‬، ‫ ا‬ ِ ‫ﻮل َﺣ ْﺴﺒِﻲ ﻛ‬ ‫ﲰ‬ ‫ ا‬ ُ ‫ َ وأ ُﻗ‬، ‫ ا‬ َ ُ ‫ُﻣﻠ ْ ِﺠﺌﺎ ً َﻇﻬْ ِﺮي إ َِﱃ‬ ُ ‫ َ َﻊ‬،ٰ َ ‫ ا َ و‬ ُ َ ِ ‫ ْ َﺲ ِ ﱄ وراء‬Jَ‫ ﻟ‬،‫ﻟ ِـ َﻤ ْﻦ د َﺎ‬ ‫ﺎن َ و َﻣﺎ‬ َ ََ َ َ ‫ ﻣَﺎ َﺷﺎءَ َ ر ِ ّﰊ‬،ٰ¨َ‫ْﺘ‬s ‫ ا َ و َو َراءَ ُﻛ ْﻢ ﻳَﺎ َ ﺳﺎدَ ِﰐ ُﻣ‬ َ j‫ﻟ َ ْﻢ ﻳ َ َﺸﺄْ ﻟ َ ْﻢ ﻳَﻜ ُْﻦ‬ I direct myself to bring myself over to that which All{h wills and commands. (because) there is no power and no might save All{h. I commit my case to All{h, anything neglected or taking place behind my back shall be taken care of All{h, I entrust All{h with the management of my affairs, and say: All{h is sufficient and enough, All{h pays attention to whoso makes a request to Him, there is nothing for me in that which is on the other side (in opposition) of All{h, and you, O my leaders, ultimately that which my lord Nourisher wills takes place, and happens not that which He wills not.

ِ ِ‫وﻻ َ َﺣﻮ َل وﻻ َ ُﻗ َﻮةَ إِﻻَّ ﺑ‬ ‫ ا آ ِﺧ َﺮ اﻟْﻌَﻬْ ِﺪ ِﻣ ِ ّﲏ‬ ‫ﺎ أ َ ْﺳﺘ َ ْﻮ ِد ُﻋ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ‬ ّ َ ْ َ ُ ‫ َ وﻻ َ َ ﺟﻌَﻠ َ ُﻪ‬،َ ‫ ا‬ j‫إِﻟَﻴ ْ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ‬ There is no power and no might save in All{h. Unto you (both) I have come with love and affection, motivated under Divine incentive. May All{h not make my this pledge of physical and spiritual close association with you (both) the last fulfillment.

ِ ‫ﺖ ﻳَﺎأَﺑ َﺎ ﻋَﺒ ِﺪ‬ َِ ِِ ِ ‫ا ﻳَﺎ‬ َ ‫ﲔ َ و َﻣ ْﻮ‬ َ ْ ‫ﻻي َ وأَﻧ‬ ْ َ ‫إِﻧ ْ َﺼ َﺮﻓْ ُﺖ ﻳَﺎ َ ﺳ ِﻴ ّﺪي ﻳَﺎ أﻣﲑ َ اﻟـ ْ ُﻤ ْﺆﻣﻨ‬ ِ َّ‫ﺳ ِﻴ ِﺪي وﺳﻼ َ ِﻣﻲ َﻠَﻴ ُﻜﻤﺎ ﻣﺘ‬ ِ ‫ و‬، َ َ ‫ﻚ‬ ‫ﻬﺎر‬ ‫اﻟﻨ‬ ‫ و‬ ‫ﻞ‬ ‫ﻴ‬ ‫ﻠ‬ ‫ اﻟ‬ ‫ﻞ‬ ‫ﺼ‬ ‫ﺗ‬ ‫ﺎ ا‬ ‫ ﻣ‬ ‫ﻞ‬ ‫ﺼ‬ ٌ َ َ ّ ّ ُ َ ِ ‫اﺻ ٌﻞ ذ ٰﻟ‬ ّ َ َ َ ُ َ ْ ََ َّ ُ َ ْ 65

DuÝ{ after Ziy{rat ÝÀshura – DuÝ{ Alqamah

ِ ٍ ‫ﲑ َﳏ ْ ُﺠ‬ ‫ َوأ َ ْﺳﺄَﻟ ُ ُﻪ ِ ﲝ َ ّﻘِ ُﻜﻤﺎ أ َ ْن‬j ‫ ا‬ ُ َ‫ﻮب ﻋَﻨْ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ َ ﺳﻼ َﻣﻲ إ ِْن َﺷﺎء‬ ُ ْ َ ¡ ‫إِﻟَﻴ ْ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ‬ ِ ِ َ ‫ﻚ وﻳ َ ْﻔﻌَ َﻞ ﻓَﺈِﻧ َّ ُﻪ‬ j‫ ﲪﻴ ٌﺪ َ ﳎِﻴ ٌﺪ‬ َ َ ‫ﻳ َ َﺸﺎءَ ذ ٰﻟ‬ I take advantage O my leader, O the Commander of the Faithful, O my friend to whom I have surrendered, body and soul, and you O Ab{ ÝAbdill{h, O my leader, and pay respects with love and affection, nonstop, (till) do not carry embracing days and nights, closely embracing it, to you, if All{h so wills, without ever being separated, in your names I beseech Him, that He wills it and does it because verily it is He who alone is praised, and he brings about beautiful things.

ِ ِ ً ‫إِﻧْﻘَﻠَﺒﺖ ﻳَﺎ ﺳ ِﻴ َﺪ َّي ﻋَﻨ ْ ُﻜﻤﺎ ﺗَ ِﺎﺋﺒﺎ ً َ ﺣﺎ ِﻣﺪا‬ َ‫ ¡ َ ْﲑ‬،‫ﻼ ِْﺟﺎﺑ َ ِﺔ‬ ◌ ِ ‫ َﺷﺎ ِﻛﺮا ً َ را ِﺟﻴﺎ ً ﻟ‬ َ َّ ُ ْ ٍِ ِ ِ ٍِ َ‫ ¡ َ ْﲑ َ َ را ِﻏ ٍﺐ ﻋَﻨ ْ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ َ وﻻ‬،‫ﺎرﺗِ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ‬ َ َ ‫ آﺋﺒﺎً َﺎﺋﺪا ً َ را ِﺟﻌﺎ ًإِﱃ ٰ ِزﻳ‬،‫آﻳﺲ َ وﻻَ ﻗَﺎﻧﻂ‬ ِ ‫ِﺟ‬ ِ َ ‫ﻋَ ْﻦ ِزﻳ‬ j َ ُ ‫ﺎرﺗ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ ﺑ َ ْﻞ َ را ٌﻊ َﺎﺋ ٌﺪ إ ِْن َﺷﺎءَ ا‬ I see the light and bring myself over to you, accepting the true faith, sorry for my earlier ignorance, thankful to All{h, always hopeful of getting His favour, never giving into despair, nor losing heart, ever ready to be near you, coming back again and again to see you, never “not longing” for your nearness, but, if All{h so wills, shall be always in your neighborhood as an everyday habit.

ِ ِ ّ ِ‫وﻻَ َﺣﻮ َل وﻻَ ُﻗ َﻮةَ إِﻻَّ ﺑ‬ ‫ﺎرﺗِ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ ﺑَﻌْ َﺪ أ َ ْن‬ ّ َ ْ َ َ َ ‫ ﻳَﺎ َ ﺳﺎدَ ِﰐ َ رﻏﺒ ْ ُﺖ إِﻟَﻴ ْ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ َ وإِﱃ ٰ ِزﻳ‬، ‫ﺎ‬

َ ِ َ ‫زَ ِﻫ َﺪ ﻓِﻴ ُﻜﻤﺎ و ِﰲ ِزﻳ‬ ِ ‫ ا ِﻣـ َّﻤﺎ َ ر َﺟ ْﻮ ُت َ و َﻣﺎ‬ َ َ َ ُ َ‫َﲏ‬Rَّ‫ ﻓَﻼ َ ﺧﻴ‬،‫ﺎرﺗ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ أ ْﻫ ُﻞ اﻟ ُّﺪﻧْﻴ َﺎ‬ ِ ‫أ َ َﻣﻠْﺖ ِ ﰲ ِز‬ j‫ِﻴﺐ‬ ُ ّ َ ٌ ‫ﻳﺐ ُ ﳎ‬ ٌ ‫ﻳﺎرﺗ ُﻜ َﻤﺎ إِﻧ َّ ُﻪ ﻗَ ِﺮ‬

The Torch of Perpetual Guidance There is no power and no might save in All{h. O my leaders I long for you and love to be in your company though the worldly people looked at it with indifference and kept aloof from your friendly intercourse. May not All{h let me fall short of in that which I hope for and in that which I look long and attentively to establish everlasting reunion with you. Verily He is near and gives positive answer to prayers.